Solo Recital at WOLF TRAP

Wolf Trap Opera

“Barton has solidified her status as one of the most distinctive voices in the opera world, both onstage and off. Purcell’s ‘Music for a While,’ as arranged by Benjamin Britten, and Schubert’s ‘An die Musik,’ offered a reminder of what makes Barton’s sound unique: a rare plushness and consistency of tone, a sense of effortless vocal power, and an upper extension that can thrillingly maintain the color and depth of the middle voice. Both songs benefited from the clarity she brings to texts and the immediacy of her dramatic presence.

As might be expected from the preeminent Jezibaba of her generation, Barton brought a vivid expressiveness to Dvorak’s Ciganske melodie, deploying careful character choices to fully realize Dvorak’s twin modes of lyricism and earthiness. Broader, dance-inflected numbers like ‘Aj! Kterak trojhranec můj přerozkošně zvoní’ and ‘Struna naladěna’ strode with an open sound and pungent vocal attacks. The poignant centerpiece ‘Když mne stará matka zpívat, zpívat učívala’ opened with waves of rich tone before giving way to exquisite hushed piano effects in the second line, a fully realized emotional journey in miniature. And Barton brought a thrilling power and solidity to the closing paean to freedom, ‘Dejte klec jestřábu ze zlata ryzého,’ capped with a roof-shaking climax.

The second half opened with three of Henri Duparc’s songs of the early 1870s. Barton delivered a decadent sound in the impressionistic ‘L’invitation au voyage’ and dreamy ‘Extase’ (on texts of Charles Baudelaire and Jean Lahor), then turned inward to capture the hushed stillness of the opening of ‘Phidylé’ (on a text by Leconte de Lisle). A welcome showcase for the vocal beauty Barton can produce…

The final set of Jean Sibelius songs featured a mix of selections from his Op. 36 and 37, all composed around the year 1900. Barton abandoned herself to the sturm and drang of these late romantic works, pushing the dramatic possibilities of the extravagant poetry and Sibelius’ transporting vocal lines. ‘Svarta rosor’ came to a bitter, defiant finish, while compelling storytelling and sly humor in the opening of ‘Flickan kom ifrån sun älsklings möte’mcontrasted with a commanding delivery of the bleak closing stanza. Barton’s generous, expansive singing in ‘Var det en dröm?”’ offered an irresistible finale.”
–Washington Classical Review