Christine Brewer, Roger Vignoles, Wigmore Hall | reviews, news & interviews
Christine Brewer, Roger Vignoles, Wigmore Hall
Christine Brewer, Roger Vignoles, Wigmore Hall
Unqualified rapture - Strauss songs find their voice
Wednesday, 09 December 2009
American great: 'Christine Brewer in Richard Strauss is about as right as it gets'
Wigmore Hall does not always take kindly to big voices; it’s an easy hall to over-sing. But when the singer is the American soprano Christine Brewer and the sound so open, so rich and effulgent, hall and voice become one resonance. It’s almost as if Wigmore is selective in its response. It warms to the right voice in the right music. Brewer in Strauss is about as right as it gets. And besides, regardless of the venue, Brewer has never sung to be heard; she sings to be understood.
Wigmore Hall does not always take kindly to big voices; it’s an easy hall to over-sing. But when the singer is the American soprano Christine Brewer and the sound so open, so rich and effulgent, hall and voice become one resonance. It’s almost as if Wigmore is selective in its response. It warms to the right voice in the right music. Brewer in Strauss is about as right as it gets. And besides, regardless of the venue, Brewer has never sung to be heard; she sings to be understood.
The future of Arts Journalism
You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!
We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d
And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.
Subscribe to theartsdesk.com
Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.
To take a subscription now simply click here.
And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?
more Classical music
The English Concert, Bicket, Wigmore Hall review - a Baroque banquet for Christmas
Charpentier's charm, as well as Bach's bounty, adorn the festive table
Classical CDs: Woden, waltzes and watchmaking
Big box sets, a great British symphony and a pair of solo cello discs
Messiah, Wild Arts, Chichester Cathedral review - a dynamic battle between revelatory light and Stygian gloom
This supple inventive interpretation of the 'Messiah' thrillingly delivers the story
Messiah, Academy of Ancient Music, Cummings, Barbican review - once more, with real feeling
The seasonal standby returns with heart, zest and grace
Christmas with Connaught Brass, Milton Court review - delightful seasonal fare from Bach to Boulanger
Young quintet dazzle with their technical accomplishment and easy charm
Classical CDs: Christmas 2024
The year's best seasonal releases
Giltburg, Bournemouth SO, Wigglesworth, Portsmouth Guildhall review - seemingly effortless élan
New chief conductor turns Tchaikovsky waltz king, and a Rachmaninov partnership flows
Bach Mendelssohn Festival, Part I, Oxford Philharmonic Orchestra review - the flame that never died
Top-flight performers show how a musical legacy endured
Currie, Hallé, Wong, Bridgewater Hall, Manchester review - sparkle and intrigue
Energy and excitement in MacMillan… and then a surprise
Rajakesar, Selaocoe, The Hermes Experiment, Wigmore Hall review - a joyful, fascinating laboratory of noise
Celebrating the avant-garde through different cultures
Classical CDs: Vitamins, kings and magic spells
A neglected ballet score, romantic piano concertos and contemporary British music
Kavakos, Philharmonia, Blomstedt, RFH review - a supreme valediction forbidding mourning
Nonagenarian conductor provides the flow, his players the passion, in Mahler's Ninth
Add comment