It seems like there is always a surprise at Roy Thomson Hall these days. On March 20, the concert was preceded by the investiture of Music Director Gustavo Gimeno as a Commander of the Order of Civil Merit of Spain by the ambassador of that nation who used the occasion to make a speech including a very obvious reference to Canada as an independent country. It was followed by the playing of the national anthems of both countries in case anyone missed the point.
And so to the published program … Rufus Wainwright’s A Woman’s Face (Sonnet 20) starts with a very restrained section for viola and celeste which gave soprano Anna Prohaska time to progress slowly across the choir loft before beginning to sing from there. She sang rather beautifully, stylistically somewhere between classical soprano and singer-songwriter, which suited the music but sounded a bit strange given the text. Gimeno handled the orchestra with restraint and she was clearly audible; something he managed throughout the vocal part of the program.
Soprano Anna Prohaska with the TSO conducted by Gustavo Gimeno. Photo: Jae Yang/Courtesy of the TSO
The little known and quite short overture from Maria Theresia von Paradis’ Singspiel Der Schulkandidat provided a pleasant, typically 18th-century interlude before Prohaska’s return to stage level for two dramatic scenes. The first was “Come scoglio”, and its introductory recitative from Mozart’s Così fan tutte. This was accurate, dramatic—just how one wants to hear it.
The second scene was the much less well known Scena di Berenice by Haydn. This sets an extract from Metastasio’s libretto Antigono. It’s a “despair and rage” piece which was apparent from the properly dramatic singing. Being able to access the text might have made it more dramatically effective but the TSO’s practice of distributing the text in the program in tiny print then keeping the lighting too low to read it rather ruined that idea.
The main event, after the break, was Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No.4 in G Major. This work really stands apart from Mahler’s other symphonies for its sunny disposition and lack of bombast. The multitude of beautiful but naive melodies is very easy to listen to and gives plenty of opportunities for soloists from all sections of the orchestra to display some virtuosity. It does have a darker, more dramatic side too, as in the dissonant climax in the first movement and the somewhat weird and sinister treatment of a folk dance tune in the scherzo. And of course it finishes with a setting of text from Das Knaben Wunderhorn naively describing a child’s vision of Heaven.
Soprano Anna Prohaska with the TSO conducted by Gustavo Gimeno. Photo: Jae Yang/Courtesy of the TSO
Gimeno handled the symphony very nicely. The folk tunes were allowed to flow and the crescendi were properly exciting. He opted for quite extreme dynamics at times with some very, very quiet passages contrasted with thundering climaxes. The solos were all played with the highest skill and the final movement, taken quite briskly, showcased Prohaska singing with an appropriately open and bright tone; almost childlike in fact. All in all it was a very satisfying account of this somewhat enigmatic piece.
Overall, the concert was very enjoyable and succeeded in its aim of presenting Anna Prohaska as a TSO Spotlight Artist.
There is one more opportunity to hear the TSO and Anna Prohaska in this program on March 22 at Roy Thomson Hall. www.tso.ca
