United States Numerous: Samantha Hankey (mezzo-soprano), Myra Huang (piano). Cal Performances, Hertz Corridor, College of California Berkeley, 18.1.2026. (HS)
Poulenc – Trois Chansons de Federico García Lorca
William Schumann – Dichterliebe
Satie – ‘La Diva de l’Empire’
Schoenberg – ‘Gigerlette’
Trenet – ‘Boum!’
Weill – ‘Converse Low’ from One Contact of Venus; ‘Youkali’
Porter – ‘So in Love’ from Kiss Me, Kate
Encore: Bizet – Seguidilla from Carmen
I first encountered Samantha Hankey in 2015 on the Aspen Music Pageant. One of many younger contributors within the opera program, she stood out as a vibrant mezzo-soprano with severe promise, particularly as an cute Dorabella in Mozart’s Così fan tutte, a task she lately sang at Covent Backyard. Now she is singing star roles repeatedly in Europe (Berlin Staatsoper and Wiener Staatsoper) and the title function in Der Rosenkavalier on the Metropolitan Opera in New York. With these credentials, there was no shock at her poise and vocal depth in a program that included William Schumann’s Dichterliebe and an interesting array of lighter-weight songs, amongst them favorites by Kurt Weill and Cole Porter.
Although fastidiously executed, Dichterliebe got here off as a bit undercooked. The excellent pianist Myra Huang (who additionally has a distinguished historical past with Aspen, to not point out heading up the younger artists program on the Met) equipped extraordinary depth and understanding of the musical facets all through Schumann’s track cycle.
This assortment of 16 principally quick songs, based mostly on poems by Heinrich Heine, traces the travails and anguish of a love affair gone unhealthy. Although historically sung by tenors or baritones, Schumann did dedicate the piece to a soprano, so it isn’t verboten for ladies to sing it. Hankey doesn’t have the richest low vary, however her voice travels simply from excessive to low with a fair presence. Solely the final two songs exceed two minutes, and a singer should convey quite a lot of emotion earlier than the piano takes over and finishes the musical arc with Schumann’s in depth postludes.
These of us referencing the libretto seen that Hankey tended to make use of facial expressions and physique language as a substitute of ‘appearing’ along with her voice. Fists at her hips in a girlish posture set the stage for winsome singing in ‘Wenn ich in deine Augen seh’’ (‘After I look into your eyes’). A tilt of her head in ‘Ich will meine Seele tanchen’ (‘Let me bathe my soul’) hinted at a quizzical interpretation of a line translated as ‘The songs shall tremble and quiver’, moderately than her suggesting trembling and quivering along with her voice. Her arms crossed throughout ‘Das ist ein Flöten und Geigen’ (‘What a fluting, what a scraping’) made it appear withdrawn moderately than an exclamation.
With extra time to develop a vocal arc, the longer remaining songs carried the most effective mixture of visible and sound. The skipping rhythm of ‘Aus altern Märchen’ (‘From fairy tales of previous’) and the bouncy ‘Die alten, bösen Lieder’ (‘The unhealthy previous songs’) additionally offered a musical carry to the end earlier than taking a severe flip within the second half of the final track which references a lover’s grave. Though the singer’s stance on the finish conveyed an sudden resolve, as if to stifle the grief moderately than categorical it, Huang’s softly executed piano postlude caught the grief completely.
Hankey’s humor got here via in a collection of droll songs within the second half, her voice catching ironic facets within the lyrics. In Satie’s ‘La Diva de l’Empire’, Hankey launched a contemporary disdain because the ‘diva of the empire’ reveals a girl’s scorn for undesirable consideration from males. Schoenberg’s early ‘Gigerlette’, which turns an intimate teatime into one thing decidedly extra louche, got here via with a sparkle, and Charles Trenet’s ‘Boum!’ had a lighter contact than the title (‘Boum does imply increase’) would counsel.
The 2 Weill songs paired the seductive ‘Converse Low’ with the satirical fantasy ‘Youkali’, the French language seeming totally pure. With out the context of the plot in Cole Porter’s Kiss Me, Kate (itself a activate Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew), ’taunt me, damage me, deceive me, desert me’ wanted a extra ironic tone than the critically masochistic interpretation we bought in a sultry efficiency.
Better of all was the encore, the Seguidilla from Bizet’s Carmen. Along with her arms behind her again, leaning towards the curve of the piano, Hankey not solely portrayed the handcuffed character however bought all of the nuances essential to make this aria successful. Would somebody please forged her as Carmen!
Harvey Steiman
