SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

A Tribute To Hans Hotter : Shenyang, bass-baritone, Llŷr Williams (piano)  BBC Hoddinott Hall, Cardiff. 25.1.2009 (JJ)


Appropriately held on the eve of Chinese New Year, the winner of the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of The World, Shenyang returned to the city of his win to give his UK recital debut, paying tribute to one of his musical heroes, fellow bass-baritone Hans Hotter on the centenary of his birth.

Despite flying in from New York – where he’s currently rehearsing Masetto in Don Giovanni for his first outing for the Metropolitan Opera – the day before the recital, if there is any hangover jet-lag Shenyang doesn’t show it as everything about his performance is perfect.

The recital begins with five Franz Schubert compositions. Dressed all in black like a character from The Matrix, it’s as if Shenyang’s suit sets the tone for the afternoon as the mood is more about the dark recesses of the soul than any lightness of spirit.

From the off, what is obvious, no matter what the material, is Shenyang’s impressive vocal range, his ability to meld and mould the music and actually inhabit it.

He has a real expressiveness, mixing mellowness with melodrama as he acts out the music but never over-eggs it with the kind of hamminess that blights many classical singers, even world-calibre ones. As he rips through the Schubert section, he imbues the work with a measured melancholy that continues throughout.

With three pieces by Johannes Brahms Shenyang really hits his stride. His phrasing, tonality and musical intelligence show why he took the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World prize home. He is, by turns, soaringly visceral and overblown and quietly reined-in and contained. However he sings, Shenyang never loses control of the emotion or sentiment; his towering presence takes command with an almost imperious stillness.

The afternoon ends with three pieces by Hugo Wolf that showcase both the timbre of Shenyang’s voice and the acoustics of BBC Hoddinott Hall, the new home of the BBC National Orchestra Of Wales. The impressive venue offers a purity and resonance of sound that works in tandem with one of the best singers on the face of the planet to provide a unique experience.

Ultimately, that’s the beauty of the recital – getting the opportunity to watch a world-beating bass-baritone, accompanied on piano by the peerless Llŷr Williams, in such an intimate setting that you feel you’re experiencing something truly special. A rare treat.

Part of a series of concerts, Afternoons With Llŷr Williams, that continue throughout February. This year’s BBC Cardiff Singer Of The World competition takes place June 6-June 14. Season brochure available from bbc.co.uk/cardiffsinger. Ticket sales open March 5.

Jason Jones

Reprinted by kind permission of the author and The Western Mail in which this review appeared first

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