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Frederica von Stade Gives Final New York Concert
by Paul Hansen
Wednesday, May 12th, 2010
New York, NY
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Frederica von Stade gave her New York farewell concert on April 22 at Carnegie Hall. There are few American singers who are as beloved as Ms.von Stade. She is bringing to a close a stellar career in which she performed with virtually every major opera house in the world and made innumerable recordings. Although her name may sound imposing, she was actually born in New Jersey and is more usually referred to by the nickname "Flicka". She has an easy grace and charm which can be very refreshing for those who think that classical singers come from a remote or unapproachable milieu.

The concert functioned as a retrospective on Ms.von Stades career as a mezzo-soprano and her song choices were inspired by incidents in her life history. For example, her mother told her that when she was born, Flicka had a rosebud mouth. Two rose-themed songs therefore opened the program: Ned Rorems setting of Gertrude Stein's poem "I Am Rose," and Edith Piaf's signature number, "La Vie en Rose". French music figured prominently in the recital, perhaps partly as a result of Flicka spending some of her student days in Paris. She remarked that as a student she worked as a salesperson, a babysitter and a nanny which she humorously said helped prepare her for a career in the opera world.

The piano accompanist of the evening was Martin Katz who has been Flicka’s accompanist for 36 years. It is easy to see why she has had such a long relationship with Mr. Katz. He plays with a subtlety, nuance and sensitivity that makes him a draw as an artist in his own right. In fact, at one point during the concert Flicka told the audience, "You had no idea you were coming to Marty’s Piano Bar, did you?".

Ms.Von Stade moved easily from popular to classical songs and arias in her program. There was a selection from Bernstein’s On The Town in which Ms.von Stade was joined by Richard Stilwell and the stentorian American bass Samuel Ramey. It is truly refreshing to hear popular Broadway songs included in vocal recitals at Carnegie Hall. In terms of technique and inspiration, there is little if any qualitative difference between 19^th century classical European songs and selections from the Great American Songbook. Other highlights from the performance included two selections from Francis Poulenc’s song cycle Banalites, which also seemed to whimsically straddle both classical and pop song textures.

There was a particularly poignant moment during one of the encores when von Stade was joined by one of her daughters, Jenny Rebecca Elkus, who is clearly pregnant. Ms. Elkus is apparently expecting a girl, and in a tribute to daughters, the duo sang Chris Brubeck’s song "Across Your Dreams". Other guests of the evening included cellist Emil Miland who provided additional lyrical accompaniment to several selections.

The last number on the official program was Sondheim’s "Send in the Clowns". The final lyrics of this song are, "Well, maybe next year". Perhaps Ms.von Stade will happily take a cue from Dame Edna and make this only the first of a number of farewell concerts in New York.

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Last updated by Paul Hansen - Wednesday, May 12th, 2010 - New York, NY