Das Lied

dublin | arts and media | opinion/analysis

Monday March 07, 2005 19:17

by Sean Crudden

sean.crudden at iol dot ie

Jenkinstown, Dundalk, Co Louth.

087 9739945

Excellent Rendition of Das Lied von der Erde

A young Russian soloist took over at short notice from the indisposed Patricia Bardon and captured every heart in the National Concert Hall on Friday night in the leading role in a very entertaining and profound performance of the Mahler classic.

The RTE National Symphony Orchestra gave a very satisfying concert in The National Concert Hall on Friday 4 March 2005.

The program was:-

Mozart: Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K 550.
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde.

The soloists were Ekaterina Gubanova (mezzo-soprano) and Keith Lewis (tenor). The conductor was Benjamin Zander and the leader was Alan Smale.

The conductor worked hard in the Mozart symphony and his brow showed a little veil of sweat at the end. He is a mature man, tall, of excellent light stature with what might be termed a classical bearing. He is earnest and attentive and his body language while angular is appealing and inspiring and he seemed to get the effects he wanted from the orchestra. He wanted, I think, lift and buoyancy from the orchestra and, by gum, I think he got it. I paid less attention to him after the interval when my attention was riveted on Keith Lewis and Ekaterina Gubanova.

The soloists in Das Lied were quite composed and unapprehensive showing confidence and very little fear (a tribute, in a way, to the conductor and the orchestra, perhaps). I cannot find words to describe Mr Lewis’ voice - it is full and quite round but, I thought it has an unusual colour. However he seemed at ease with the job he had to do and, I thought he gave a reasonably good account of the part he had to play. He sang dramatically where required but I thought there was an absence (deliberate?) of vocal and facial expression. His attitude was serious but unconcerned.

Ms Gubanova is a sturdy girl and though Russian resembles what was in my young days the classical picture of a young Irish woman. Her voice is a little on the dark side in colour but she coped with the demands of the music without any bother. She kept everyone’s attention without using any histrionics or dramatic articulation. Her phrasing was excellent, I thought, in some of the more familiar parts of the text that I was watching out for such as "Er sprach, seine stimme war umflort (He spoke and his voice was veiled)." Perhaps I am being unfair or perhaps I misunderstand something but I though that unlike Mr Lewis she conveyed the meaning of the words with great clarity and understanding and without the use of any heavy emphasis.

She maintained a serious and profound presence throughout the performance but nevertheless maintained a reassuring air of relaxation and self-confidence. However after the applause at the end (it was sustained and many in the audience stood up in tribute) she showed a glimpse of her own personal and very attractive personality with a few warm smiles.

She was dressed quietly in copper/earth colours.