Wigmore Hall 6th June 2013
Pretty Yende with James Vaughan
Pretty Yende made her recital debut at Wigmore Hall, performing a programme of songs by Rossini, Bellini, Donizetti, Liszt, Debussy, Weill, Gershwin and Bernstein. James Vaughan provided accompaniment.
Rossini La promessa
Bellini Almen se non poss’io
Rossini L’Invito
Donizetti Il barcaiolo
Donizetti ‘O luce di quest’anima’ from Linda di Chamounix
Liszt Tre sonetti di Petrarca
Debussy Beau soir
Debussy Fleur des blés
Debussy Clair de lune
Debussy Apparition
Debussy Mandoline
Weill My Ship
Gershwin By Strauss
Gershwin Blah blah blah
Bernstein ‘I Feel Pretty’ from West Side Story
My dear friend Gerard Cleary kindly invited me to join him for this concert. He had heard Pretty Yende singing in the recent Metropolitan Opera House Le Comte Ory. In the best tradition of Hollywood she stepped in at the last moment thus stepping into the limelight. Needless to say she blew them away in New York. And when you hear her wonderful voice – blew them away is as literal a description as any I can employ. Pretty has a pretty big instrument which at times is quite extraordinarily beautiful but never less than powerful. Unlike many big voices this one is also under steel control.
Pretty Yende really is quite this beautiful & quite the actress. And boy can she sing
I do not here think that either the Wigmore was the best venu nor the programme largely of bel canto arias to piano accompaniment were absolutely appropriate showcase for her extraordinary talent. Pretty being so much more than a pretty face is a consummate artist; gifted professional; an intelligent singer. What is more she is a natural stage presence; she can act and she is wonderfully able to engage with an audience. Hers really is one of the largest voices I’ve ever heard – entirely untroubled by sharpness in the top register and lovely and creamy in the lower register. The unforced volume reverberated in a small concert hall. her voice is a little like Leontyne Price in her glory days, though Pretty’s voice is untroubled by the demands of the bel canto repertoire with its running scales and demands of the coloratura vocal fireworks. These she delivered securely and with engaging theatricality. In a sense the confines of the Wigmore were too small for this new star. her voice in this repertoire might be better served than a pianist – even one as interesting and gifted as James Vaughan.
That said Miss yende subtly sculpted her voice around the songs of Claude Debussy; she was suitably coquettish with the cocktail-bar-style of Kurt Weill and Gershwin; she got slightly lost in Bernstein’s I feel Pretty from West Side Story but only a lyric-loving gay man would have noticed. I loved the last of the three pieces of Liszt. She gave us the famous aria from Semiramide at the end – which was well within her competence and was more encore than one might expect after such a demanding programme. .
As South Africa holds it breath and prays for their first president in these sad last days of Nelson Mandela there’s another breath of fresh air from the very townships that gave birth to the ANC. Pretty will be a big star in the opera firmament. I for one cannot wait to see her in the Royal Opera House. I…..she studies the role of Amina in La Sonnambula…..there’s a thought for the denizens who govern Covent Garden, who doubtless hang upon my every word…