Friday March 20, 2009 - Bass-baritone Shenyang won the 2009 Alice Tully Vocal Arts Award and he presented the winner's concert at Alice Tully Hall with pianist Vlad Iftinca. For someone still so young, Shenyang has had quite a career to date. He won the Cardiff Singer of the Year competition in 2007. After that win, he joined the Met Lindemann Young Artists Program. He is already an accomplished recitalist; he sang a memorable performance of the Brahms LIEBESLIEDER cycles last year with two stellar pianists and scored a fine success in James Conlon's presentation of an operatic TRILOGY with the Juilliard Opera Center. Shenyang makes his Metropolitan Opera stage debut as Masetto in DON GIOVANNI on April 13.
With Vlad Iftinca (photo) at the piano I felt pretty certain the evening would be musically rich and satisfying; it proved to be all that and more as the two young artists offered an all-German programme which displayed their talents to perfection and which remained all evening at such a high level that it is almost impossible to single out individual elements for praise.
Superlatives seem inadequate in describing Shenyang's voice which is voluminous, easily produced, wide-ranging, superbly controlled. He is blessed with an uncanny connection to the German language and style, and his physical stature is commanding. These are the facts, but they don't really convey the effect of listening to (and watching) Shenyang perform.
His opening Schubert set was overwhelming in its emotional effect; with Vlad as his ideal collaborator, Shenyang transported us out of our ordinary cares and concerns to a place where one could revel not just in the beauty and expressiveness of his singing but also feel an edifying connection to the human spirit.
I happened to be seated next to a dear lady who I have met many times over the years at vocal recitals; during the extended applause which followed this Schubert set both of us were contiuously dabbing our eyes and she remarked that few voices have ever moved her so deeply. I could only nod in silent agreement.
In the Loewe songs which followed, Vlad set the mood with his cascading passagework and in the second song, Erlkonig, he ideally evoked a sense of elven magic. It was in this song, a less familiar setting of the famous poem, that Shenyang used his voice with breathtaking facility to create the illusion of the three characters: the child, the father and the deadly allure of the Elf king.
Continuing with Brahms and Wolf after the intermission, Shenyang and Vlad provided one glowing success after another; it seemed with each passing song that their sense of poetry and drama intensified. Each of the seven very demanding Wolf songs created its own sound-world, and although I said it was nearly impossible to single out individual highlights, I did feel that Shenyang's dynamic mastery surpassed itself in Grenzen der Menschheit and that Vlad's playing of the opening measures of Prometheus were indicative of the of power and beauty they displayed all evening.
The large and extremely enthusiastic audience cheered the musicians back for a Wolf encore and then Shenyang offered a wonderfully simple and moving Chinese song which greatly pleased his many compatriots in the house.
Earlier I had run into my delightful friend Ying Huang and she graciously invited me to join her at the reception for Shenyang after the recital at which a huge gathering of his friends and admirers sang a spirited 'Happy Birthday to you' for the young bass-baritone. Both Shen and Vlad were being so lionized by their fans that I could not get close enough to congratulate them, so I merely stood on the sidelines and contentedly watched them bask in a sea of well-deserved accolades.
Shenyang is so young; I feel he will have several decades of singing ahead. Even if he simply maintains his current vocal and interpretive level, it will be a great career. But I think his seriousness of intent is going to continually carry him to even higher levels. I feel very privileged to be present at his performances.
BBC3 will air Shenyang's Wigmore Hall recital on Wednesday at 9 AM (EDT) and should be available for the next seven days on the BBC's "Listen Again" feature. (www.bbc.co.uk/radio3). I'm looking forward to this young man's performances in the upcoming Met "Don Giovanni."
Posted by: lingin | March 22, 2009 at 10:07 AM
That is great to know...thanks for the information Linda!
Posted by: Philip | March 22, 2009 at 12:40 PM
I heard Shen Yang's performance in the Trilogy at Juilliard and was impressed by his voice and his sincerity as an artist. If I had not been out of town this past week I would have attended the Tully recital. I'm sure we will see and hear much more of him in the years to come.
Posted by: Vox 52 | March 22, 2009 at 01:02 PM