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I went to Caramoor today expecting to chip away diligently at all the disparate songs in our nine-language recital, and content myself with slow and steady progress. I wasn’t expecting a day of lightning bolts, flashes of inspiration that startled me with their...
“What did you do on your two-week vacation from Juilliard?” people ask. “I worked,” I answer. “Oh. I’m so sorry to hear that.” “Well, I was at Caramoor, doing the Vocal Rising Stars program…” I tell them. “Ohhh…well, that’s different! Wow,...
I remember being at Tower Records in 1980, where I came across a fancy boxed set of LPs called Régine Crespin: 30 ans sur scène. Thirty years of performances, from Fiordiligi to Fidelio—what a dazzling pinnacle! At age 28, I could barely grasp the idea of such a long...
Mention the words “Berlin cabaret” and most people will imagine the sleazy M.C. and decadent all-girl band from the Kander and Ebb musical Cabaret. Film buffs will conjure up the image of Marlene Dietrich tormenting a mild-mannered elderly gentleman with her sexually...
Tonight’s program, Heroes, had a unique birth. It began with my desire to work with with the four musicians sharing the stage with me tonight, a quartet of artists who are frequent collaborators and close friends. While baritone John Brancy and violinist Charles Yang...
A picture is worth a thousand words. Here’s a little gallery from dress rehearsal this afternoon. One moment of special interest: Shelén did something so touching today during one of her songs that I was suddenly overwhelmed by emotion. I thought I’d be able to keep a...