The concert!

After a more than usually bullshit-laden day at work, I was ready for the Renee Fleming concert last night.

I ended up going with Todd Jamison. I was really glad he was able to work it out to go. He is such a nice guy, and such good company. We both really enjoyed the show. She did a varied program, with the longest piece in the first half being an atonal arrangement written in the 70's by a man named George Crumb. I imagine it was more fun to sing than it was to hear. I guess she gets tired of doing the same arias over and over, and likes to do other things when she can, and we Greenvillians, who were kind of in on a pass, were in no position to grouse. It was absolutely amazing to have her here.

We did find out why she's here. Her father is apparently living in Charlotte now, and she came to see him. He was at the show. This is exciting, because if we are very, very lucky, she'll come sing for us every now and then. It would be absolutely amazing to have such a world-renowned artist appear with any regularity in Greenville. I was literally agog when I heard she was coming. The audience, as is our wont here, was very generous with applause and love. She got four standing ovations, and at one point quipped, "this is what I have been missing in New York", which of course just made everyone clap harder. She didn't know that here in Greenville we'll give a standing ovation to just about anyone. I have frankly seen some pretty undeserving shows get them, but I will say without reservation that Ms. Fleming deserved hers. Her range is astonishing, even forgetting that she is 49! She has obviously taken great care of her voice.

I have to say, I didn't care for the Crumb arrangement, although Donnie thought it was brilliant, and one woman down near us was apparently thrilled - giving a standing ovation of one at the conclusion. I thought it was a bit cosmo for the audience - if not, it was a bit to cosmo for me, I guess. I also did not care for her accompanist, whom I thought did too much and whom I found distracting at some points. My impression was of an aspiring concert pianist, not content to accompany. The rest of the program was more accessible. She leaned heavily on the Strauss German pieces she favors, which are not my favorite, but which she sang beautifully. She also did a lovely medley of "The Water is Wide", which is a favorite of mine from my choir days. Again, I must mention her exceptional range. As a full lyric soprano, she can do the full range of notes from mezzo to coloratura, and we got pretty much the full range last night. She lightly warbled in the bird-like coloratura fashion at one point, then coyly smiled to let us know it was just for fun, and she wasn't taking it that seriously. Her energetic and surprisingly extended forays into mezzo territory were as full-bodied and rich as a robust and well-aged burgundy.

We pedestrians (or traditionalists) waited patiently for the Puccini at the end of the program, and I have to say, we weren't disappointed. The arias she sang - "O mio babbino caro" and "Vissi d'arte" - were triumphantly gorgeous; and she made them look and sound easy. I detected only one wrong note (I'm not nuts, Donnie heard it too) in an otherwise recording-worthy performance. She did "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess as an encore, and it was absolutely enchanting. She did "I Could Have Danced All Night" as her second encore, which was very nice, but she wanted audience participation like at a concert, and so you couldn't hear her some of the time. She then did a third encore, singing "Over the Rainbow". Frankly, I would have preferred a little more Puccini if she was going to nod to popular stuff - having Renee Fleming sing "Over the Rainbow" was pretty, but kind of like having a master chef make you a grilled cheese sandwich. But once again, beggars can't be choosers - not that she made us feel that way in the least.

You could tell that she was here mainly to relax, have some fun, and sing for her father. You could also tell that she was enjoying the intimacy of the venue, being used to singing for much larger audiences. The Peace Center interior is looking a bit shopworn (it opened in 1990), but the acoustics are very good. You could see her face, so she mugged and shared little jokes, which would have been impossible to do in a larger facility. It made the whole thing seem very personal, and as if you were seeing a part of the real Renee. I know this woman is a show person, and used to performing, but last night felt much more intimate and friendly than a typical performance. It was quite a warm feeling. I guess this "review" sounds pretty critical, but I am spoiled for some of the best performances ever, captured on CD and listened to repeatedly on a good sound system. And I am a Virgo, after all.

Donnie was there too, with Nicole, and after the concert, we went uptown for sushi and cocktails. We went to "Tsunami". I hadn't been there before, but had heard very good things about it from several people. The food was really pretty good (the mussels yaki were particularly good), and reasonable for sushi, but the service wasn't that great, and it wasn't very comfortable. Many of the tables are those bistro tables with tall chairs. We had a nosh and a good gossip session, and of course re-hashed the concert. And then it was home to bed. At midnight. I'm going to be dead tomorrow.