Chance encounters can remind you of things you’ve lost. They can also seem like gifts. One of those chance finds, For the Love of Lyric, a concert presented by Chicago’s esteemed Lyric Opera house was both. Conceived by the Lyric’s creative consultant and project’s advisor, celebrated soprano Renée Fleming, and slipped on line earlier this month, every piece of the musical showcase radiates wonder. Which shouldn’t be the surprise that it is. Being so long away from a world where the magic of the human voice is glorified through beautiful and timeless song may have a lot to do with it. And then presenting some of the best voices our city and country have created or nurtured certainly contributes to the show’s outsized enjoyment. Add to that a selection of music that isn’t confined to a single type or category and includes children’s voices and male voices and wonderfully diverse artists. Thanks for this entertainment royal flush are not only due Ms. Fleming; but also go to Doug Peck, the concert’s musical director who organized what felt like a self-contained gala that even reached across the Atlantic to draw in the robust talent of opera’s rising elite. There’s also a stealth surprise in the form of the show’s host, Anthony Freud, General Director and CEO of Lyric Opera of Chicago, whose easy charm and casual grace make him the perfect escort for this gem.
Mr. Freud introduces himself just after Solomon Howard’s magnificent Lift Every Voice and Sing solo. One of the most beautiful songs of resilience and hope in the American musical canon, the poem that became a song couldn’t be more appropriate as we look forward to our release from the confines of a pandemic. Howard’s velvety baritone and glowing youth fill the song with promise and proves the ideal launch for a concert that focuses on uplift and celebration.
For anyone not accustomed to listening to highly trained voices gifted with incredible natural talent, For the Love of Lyric functions both as a welcoming entrance into the unknown and an undeniable delight. For those who already know how beautifully the two fit together, the concert is like realizing a long-deferred dream. Fleming herself is featured in four songs where she sings traditional as well as operatic works. Sung in English, her rendition of The Last Rose of Summer from Martha shows off the shining purity of her voice; allowing those not familiar with opera to better appreciate her vaulted stature on the opera stage.
The program naturally spends much of its time in a musical domain that many of us find alien. And one of its chief intents is to raise donations that will help insure the venerable opera house survives our current calamity. But Peck, as the director, also uses the event as an opportunity to introduce the uninitiated to some of opera’s youngest and brightest talent. It’s the reason that along with Fleming, we also get to know burgeoning stars who’ll take classical music’s sister art form into the future. Performers who include two other astounding sopranos, Ailyn Pérez and Julia Bullock. Artists who are carving out impressive careers with the distinctiveness of their voices and their exceptional interpretive abilities.
The program also features Heather Headley, the Trinidadian-American singer whose range makes her voice comfortable in any setting. With a Tony for her role as Aida and a 2010 Grammy for her album, Audience of One, she brings a bit of Broadway to the festivities. Singing Shadowland from the Lion King and Home from The Wiz, Headley gives both songs new meaning with her unique approach and her remarkable voice.
Light, fun and sweet, mezzo soprano J’Nai Bridges’ romp through Sesame Street’s Sing with members of the Chicago Children’s Choir added a note of freshness to the celebration. A note that was elevated and refined when members of the Ryan Opera Center closed the show with Aaron Copeland’s The Promise of Living from The Tender Land.
For the Love of Lyric
Available on the Lyric’s Youtube Channel and its Facebook Page
https://www.lyricopera.org/productions/2020-21/for-the-love-of-lyric-concert/
