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Seventh Heaven
Christine Brewer and Craig Rutenberg's
recital in Los Angeles,
reviewed by MARIA NOCKIN
On 1 June 2010, dramatic soprano Christine Brewer strode out before a large audience to begin a most memorable recital. Wearing a black chiffon V-necked, full-skirted gown ornamented with a sparkling silver brooch, she opened with a luscious, full-voiced rendition of 'Divinités du Styx' from Christoph Willibald Gluck's 1776 version of his opera Alceste. Both she and her able accompanist, Craig Rutenberg, were in superb form as they conveyed Alceste's anguished plea to die in place of her husband.
Then they began to perform some of the music for which Brewer is most justly famous: Richard Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder. The five songs have less than optimum texts, but the poet, Mathilde Wesendonck, was obviously able to otherwise inspire the composer to write glorious music...
Copyright © 6 June 2010
Maria Nockin,
Arizona USA
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