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He wrote songs, too

Lyric Fest's "Tchaikovsky: A Biography in Music'

In
3 minute read
Fabiano: One style fits all?
Fabiano: One style fits all?
The big attraction among the performers at Lyric Fest's latest outing was Michael Fabiano, a highly acclaimed American tenor who has been making rave debuts with the Met, the English National Opera and other major companies.

Fabiano is a classic Italian (albeit New Jersey-born) tenor, with the big soaring voice and the sure, unforced control that brings audiences to their feet at the end of major arias. He put all his assets on display in the first half, but his bring-down-the-house performances didn't suit all the pieces he sang, and they left me wondering if he's one of those performers who sings every piece the same way.

In the second half, Fabiano dispelled that concern with moving, well-modulated performances of "Lenski's Aria" from Eugene Onegin and a song "The Lights are Going Out."

For most of us, Tchaikovsky is a composer of symphonies, ballets and one opera: Eugene Onegin. Few people will think of a favorite song when they think of Tchaikovsky, but he wrote over a hundred songs and duets. The songs featured in Lyric Fest's "Biography in Music" included an ode to dawn with a lyrically appropriate piano accompaniment, a big salute to pleasure and love, and several essays in tenderness and melancholy.

I don't speak Russian, but Tchaikovsky's settings seem to follow the natural flow of his native language. Some composers can't resist embellishments that clash with the language when they write songs. Tchaikovsky's settings are unaffectedly affecting.

Baritone in the lead

Fabiano is a hard act to follow, but baritone Anton Belov followed him several times and managed to hold his own. In the scenes from Eugene Onegin, Belov got to play the title role, with Fabiano as the second male— reversing the usual situation in opera. The female singers in the quartet— soprano Jessica Julin and mezzo Tatyana Rashkovksy— possessed equally impressive voices.

Julin, Rashkovsky and Belov are all basically opera singers, but they acquitted themselves with distinction when they transited to the more nuanced, intimate style songs require.

Founders in the wings

This is the first time Lyric Fest has presented a program that didn't include onstage appearances by its three founding directors, but the influence of Mesdames Suzanne DuPlantis, Randi Marrazzo and Laura Ward could be felt through the entire afternoon, from the tasteful program covers to the notably edible treats served at the post-concert reception.

DuPlantis once again wrote the script that tied narration, music and readings from letters into a coherent, moving whole. Her script demonstrated a good grasp of modern documentary style, moving between commentary, quotes and musical numbers much the way successful TV documentaries use commentary, quotes, and images.

Preoccupied with himself

The Tchaikovsky who emerged from the Lyric Fest program was not, in many ways, a likable person. He was self-centered, self-indulgent and preoccupied with his own inner turmoil. When his long time patroness, Nadezhda von Meck, advised him she was having financial troubles and couldn't send him any more money, he assured her he was doing well financially and he wanted to continue their 15-year correspondence. But I couldn't help noticing he didn't offer to send her a check.

But we're only looking at a half-person when we focus on the part of an artist's life that he spends in society. The half we never see is the person who sits by himself, isolated from all human contact, struggling with the works that make us pay attention to his life.

My favorite excerpt from the letters cited by Lyric Fest was an exhortation Tchaikovsky wrote to his writer brother, chiding him for thinking writing can be easy. According to his own description, Tchaikovsky spent full working days wrestling with his themes and phrases in the same way writers wrestle with their sentences and paragraphs. He had no sympathy for a writer who complained because writing is hard work. Good for him.

What, When, Where

Lyric Fest: “Tchaikovsky, A Biography in Music.†Jessica Julin, soprano; Tatyana Rashkovsky, mezzo-soprano; Michael Fabiano, tenor; Anton Belov, baritone; Ghenady Meirson, piano. Suzanne DuPlantis, Randi Marrazzo and Laura Ward, music directors. February 28, 2010 at First Presbyterian Church, 21st and Walnut Streets, Philadelphia. (215) 438-1702 or www.lyricfest.org.

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