Sign in Subscribe
Musicians

Kathleen Battle's Unconventional Recital at Carnegie Hall: A Mixed Bag of Musicality

Strategic Insights

— 1 min read

Kathleen Battle's recital at Carnegie Hall on Monday night was a departure from the norm, with a shouting match erupting in the balconies, a new-music specialist, Ursula Oppens, accompanying her, and a fluctuating quality to her own voice. This was Battle's second recital in New York since her dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera last February, and she appeared to be focusing on solo recitals. The combination of Battle's honeyed tone and Oppens's diagrammatic clarity created an awkward partnership, with Battle struggling to keep up with Oppens's dynamic approach.

Key Takeaways:

  • The recital was marked by a shouting match in the balconies, punctuating the performance and leaving the audience in a state of bewilderment.
  • Battle's collaboration with Ursula Oppens, a new-music specialist, resulted in an uncomfortable partnership, with Oppens's clarity contrasting starkly with Battle's lyric tone.
  • Battle's vocal troubles were evident from the opening notes of Purcell's "Come All Ye Songsters of the Sky," with a tendency to slide from note to note and produce raw tone in the lower register.
  • By the set of Mendelssohn songs, Battle had steadied herself, but her readings attended to the surface of the music rather than interpretive depths.
  • Battle's performance of Bellini's "Eccomi in lieta vesta . . . Oh! quante volte" from "I Capuleti e i Montecchi" showcased her range and emotional intensity, recalling why she initially caused excitement on the opera scene.
  • Despite some unevenness, Battle's voice still projects a distinctive aura, even if it is no longer as pure as before.
  • The encores, which included "Silent Night," ended with Miss Oppens introducing slight harmonic discontinuities, leaving Miss Battle perplexed.

Statistics:

  • Battle's recital was her second in New York since her dismissal from the Metropolitan Opera last February.
  • The recital featured a mix of Purcell, Mendelssohn, Bellini, Granados, Rodrigo, Obradors, and Mompou.
  • Battle's vocal troubles resulted in a fluctuating quality to her voice, often sounding faint and hesitant.
  • Oppens's accompaniment was characterized by a hard-edged, diagrammatic clarity that contrasted with Battle's softer tone.

Sources:

  • A. A. S., "Concert Review," The New York Times, p. __ (no date given)

Read more