Innu soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais made her Toronto Summer Music debut on July 30 in recital with pianist Louise Pelletier. They presented a classic song program primarily consisting of 19th and early 20th-century German Lieder and French mélodies. Engagingly performed, the evening also laid bare the challenges and pitfalls of the recital format for a singer still in the early stages of her career.
The opening set consisted of Brahms’ Zigeunerlieder, that strange amalgam of German song and translated Hungarian folk texts celebrating “Gypsy” or Romani life. The set’s glory is found in Brahms’ deliberate pointing of words against insistent csárdás dance rhythms that should invite all sorts of interpretive liberties. St-Gelais and Pelletier delivered the songs efficiently but lacked the ultimate push and pull and verbal acuity to breathe life into texts that can otherwise seem a bit uninspired.
Soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais with pianist Louise Pelletier at Toronto Summer Music. Photo: Lucky Tang
Next came two sets of songs by Richard Strauss which found St-Gelais in more comfortable territory. At its best, her soprano possesses a gleaming edge and smooth legato technique, both prerequisites for Strauss who famously worshiped the high female voice. So, the long, ecstatic vocal lines of songs like “Heimliche Aufforderung” and “Cäcilie” were generously filled out by St-Gelais. The pitter-patter heartbeat, chattering text of “Schlagende Herzen” could have benefited from a more fluid and idiomatic delivery.
The recital’s second half opened with two songs from Canadian composer Ian Cusson’s cycle, Le Récital des Anges set to words by Quebec poet Émile Nelligan. The chosen texts represent profound, lyrical reflections on death, ending with a devastating revelation that the poet has experienced all this tragedy by the age of twenty. St-Gelais connected deeply with the lyrics in what was perhaps the evening’s most authentic moment.
A set of lesser known French songs by well-known composers (Bizet, Saint-Saëns and Chaminade) was next, demonstrating that it is possible, and welcome, to stray beyond the usual chestnuts. Bizet’s “Pastel” is a fascinating conversation with a portrait in a gallery whose smile has been waiting for the viewer for “a hundred years”. The songs were charmingly sung by St-Gelais who clearly relishes their French texts, delivering them with point and clarity.
Henri Duparc’s songs are certainly no stranger to the recital platform, but are no less challenging for that. The soprano encountered a few pitch issues in “Chanson triste” but rallied to deliver the pent-up passion at the end of “Phidylé” with generous, soaring tone.
Soprano Elisabeth St-Gelais at Toronto Summer Music. Photo: Lucky Tang
Two Verdi rarities ended the formal program. “L’esule” is essentially a grand, bel canto scena with opening recitative, sinuous cavatina and energetic cabaletta. St-Gelais threw down the gauntlet here in what amounts to a proto-Leonora scene from Verdi’s Il trovatore. While still an essentially lyric instrument, St-Gelais’s soprano certainly shows signs it could one day take on some of the classic Italian opera roles. Vocally she paced the scene well, lacking only some final polish to her diction.
As an encore, St-Gelais took us to the realm of cabaret with Poulenc’s nostalgic waltz, “Les chemins de l’amour”, beautifully capturing its wistful, nostalgic air. Throughout the concert, pianist Pelletier was a supportive, maybe too unobtrusive presence. More rhythmic fire from her in the Brahms especially would have been welcome. Many eyes are on this gifted soprano and it will be fascinating to see how her career unfolds.
