Whlive0013 Booklet

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WHLive0013 Made & Printed in England Lorraine Hunt Lieberson mezzo-soprano Roger Vignoles piano Lorraine Hunt Lieberson mezzo-sopran0 Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, on 30 November 1998 songRoger Vignoles piano GUSTAV MAHLER Fünf Rückert Lieder 01 Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft 02.51 02 Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder 01.28 ARCHIVE 03 Liebst du um Schönheit 02.37 04 Um Mitternacht 06.56 Songs by Mahler, Handel 05 Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen 07.03 and GEORG FRIDERIC HANDEL Peter Lieberson 06 Evivo ancora … Scherza infida from Ariodante 07.44 07 As with rosy steps from Theodora 08.07 PETER LIEBERSON from Five Rilke Songs 08 O ihr Zärtlichen 03.05 09 Stiller Freund 04.10 10 Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s spoken introduction to: 01.02 11 Triraksha’s aria from Ashoka’s Dream 05.30 encores TRADITIONAL 12 Spiritual: Deep River 03.16 JOHANNES BRAHMS 13 Unbewegte laue Luft Op. 57 No. 8 04.42

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GUSTAV MAHLER (1860–1911) Song recitals on Wigmore Hall Live Fünf Rückert Lieder: Available from all good record shops and from www.wigmore-hall.org.uk/live Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder Liebst du um Schönheit Um Mitternacht Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen Song was fundamental to Mahler’s creativity, as important a genre for him as was the symphony (which it often nourished). And the five settings of poems by Freidrich Rückert, together with the cycles Kindertotenlieder – also to poems by Rückert – and Das Lied von der Erde, constitute by common consent his finest songs. Four of the five songs were written in the summer of 1901, in versions with piano and with orchestra. Liebst du um Schönheit followed a year later but was orchestrated only in 1916, and then not by Mahler himself. SIR THOMAS ALLEN baritone DAME MARGARET PRICE soprano The Rückert cycle is not actually a cycle at all. When the songs first appeared MALCOLM MARTINEAU piano GEOFFREY PARSONS piano in print they were issued individually. Only in 1907 were they collected together, Songs by Beethoven, Wolf, Butterworth, Songs by Schubert, Mahler and Strauss and even then there were two non-Rückert songs added to the batch, both set- Vaughan Williams and Bridge WHLive0008 tings of texts from Des Knaben Wunderhorn.Thussingerswho choose to perform WHLive0002 all five songs are at liberty to present them in any order which works for them, and JOYCE DIDONATO mezzo-soprano DAME FELICITY LOTT soprano JULIUS DRAKE piano Hunt Lieberson’s choice of sequence works as well as any. GRAHAM JOHNSON piano Songs by Fauré, Hahn and Head Lorraine Hunt Lieberson’s beautifully poised performance begins with the Fallen Women and Virtuous Wives Arias by Rossini and Handel second published song, Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft, a piece which anticipates Songs by Haydn, Strauss, Brahms and WHLive0009 much later Mahler in its spareness of texture and other-worldly flavour. Then Wolf Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder, the first song in the published order, is both WHLive0004 SOILE ISOKOSKI soprano MARITA VIITASALO piano somewhat secretively feverish and passionately joyful, blatantly addressed to a PETER SCHREIER tenor Songs by Sibelius, Strauss and Berg lover (Alma Schindler, no doubt, whom Mahler was later to marry). Liebst du um ANDRÁS SCHIFF piano WHLive0011 Schönheit, the last song in the published order, is a simpler kind of love song, Schubert Songs WHLive0006 2 15 b67610a.qxd 19/12/2006 19:33 Page 14

JOHANNES BRAHMS influenced by the flavour of Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben. Um Mitternacht, Unbewegte laue Luft Op. 57 No. 8 placed fourth both here and in the printed collection, is the longest and perhaps most searching song. Finally we hear the third song in the published order, Ich bin Unbewegte laue Luft, Motionless mild air, der Welt abhanden gekommen. It movingly expresses both Mahler’s craving for Tiefe Ruhe der Natur; Nature deep at rest; Durch die stille Gartennacht Through the still garden night isolation and equally – and pertinently, given Hunt Lieberson’s frail health – his Plätschert die Fontäne nur; Only the fountain splashes; vision of an eternity wherein the weary might take rest. Aber im Gemüte schwillt But my soul swells Heissere Begierde mir; With a more ardent desire; (1685–1759) Aber in der Ader quillt Life surges in my veins GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL Leben und verlangt nach Leben. And yearns for life. Evivo ancora … Scherza infida from Ariodante Sollten nicht auch deine Brust Should not your breast too Sehnlichere Wünsche heben? Heave with more passionate longing? As with rosy steps from Theodora Sollte meiner Seele Ruf Should not the cry of my soul Throughout the 1990sLorraine HuntLieberson enjoyed Nicht die deine tief durchbeben? Quiver deeply through your own? aclose relationship with the San Francisco-based Leise mit dem Ätherfuss Softly on ethereal feet Säume nicht, daher zu schweben! Glide to me, do not delay! Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, singing a number of Komm, o komm, damit wir uns Come, ah! come, that we might important Handel roles under that band’s conductor, Himmlische Genüge geben! Give each other heavenly satisfaction! Nicholas McGegan, including the physically and (Georg Daumer 1800–1875) English translation by Richard Stokes psychologically demanding title part of the 1734 opera Ariodante at the 1995 Göttingen Handel Festival and on the subsequent recording. It was, of course, a triumph. Ariodante sings his aria ‘Scherza infida’ near the beginning of Act II, erroneously believing the object of his affections, the Princess Ginevra, to be involved with Polinesso. In fact Polinesso has deceived him. ‘Ginevra’ is Dalinda (who really does love Polinesso) in disguise. This touching but emotionally complex aria tells as much of Ariodante’s indignance and jealousy as it does of his deep hurt. www.wigmore-hall.org.uk One of Hunt Lieberson’s most memorable stage performances was as Irene in Peter Sellars’s production of Handel’s great English oratorio of 1750, Theodora, first seen at Glyndebourne in 1996. The wonderful Act I air ‘As with rosy steps’ is a moving statement of faith, sung even as Irene’s friend Theodora seems about to endure sexual violation by Roman soldiers because of her refusal to offer incense to their gods in honour of the Emperor Valens. Hunt Lieberson’s performance here is as powerfully poignant as it was in the opera theatre.

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Triraksha’s aria from Ashoka’s Dream PETER LIEBERSON (b. 1946) from Five Rilke Songs So many years have passed, and we are old. But time, time has given me no certainty. O ihr Zärtlichen Once this was a lord who needed me to conquer; Stiller Freund He clung to me, then faltered. I tended him and longed for him, longed for him. Triraksha’s aria (‘So many years have passed’) from Ashoka’s Dream Ah, moving in dream-like half-light, my steps were sure. Now the landscape that I walk in breaks apart. The composer Peter Lieberson first met Lorraine Lost, I dream of waking. Hunt, as she then was, in 1996, when together with Where is my life? director Stephen Wadsworth he was casting his first Where is the ground where my own longings dwell? opera, Ashoka’s Dream. The piece, written for Santa My son … Where shall my son find his life? Fe Opera, is based on the true story of an Indian What future? emperor who converted to Buddhism and adopted anon-violentpolicy.Huntwasdulyengaged to sing the lead female role, Ashoka’s second wife, encores Triraksha. She was soon to be offered another kind TRADITIONAL of engagement by the composer too. Spiritual: Deep River arranged by H. T. Burleigh In the aria ‘So many years have passed’ (Act II Scene 8 of the opera) Triraksha Deep river, my home is over Jordan is contemplating the future of her son, musing on how, despite the passing of Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground time, uncertainties endure. In the next scene she will blind Kunala, Ashoka’s son Deep river, my home is over Jordan by Lakshmi, the punishment for which is exile and the passing of the line of Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground succession to Lakshmi. Oh don’t you want to go to that Gospel Feast Lieberson’s five Rilke settings were composed in 2001 specifically for the That Promised Land where all is peace? woman who had in the meantime become his wife. ‘When I was growing up’, he Deep river, Lord, I want to cross over into campground. writes, ‘my mother, whose first language was German, would often quote lines from Rilke. I have been drawn to his poetry ever since. Rilke seems to evoke feelings, states of being that are at the edge of awareness, mysterious but close to the heart. One can’t always understand exactly what he means. I believe this is a deliberate elusiveness in order to provoke our intuition.’ O ihr Zärtlichen and Stiller Freund are the first and third songs of the set. O ihr Zärtlichen has a childlike quality, while Stiller Freund is more mysterious, and considers self transformation as a foil to life’s woes. It’s not hard to detect a

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PETER LIEBERSON special affection in Hunt Lieberson’s ripely expressive performances of her from Five Rilke Songs husband’s music here.

O ihr Zärtlichen O ihr Zärtlichen, tretet zuweilen O you tender ones, walk now and then encores In den Atem, der euch nicht meint, Into the breath that blows coldly past, Lasst ihn an eueren Wangen sich teilen, Upon your cheeks let it tremble and part; TRADITIONAL Hinter euch zittert er, wieder vereint. Behind you it will tremble together again. Spiritual: Deep River arranged by H. T. Burleigh O ihr Seligen, o ihr Heilen, O you blessed ones, you who are whole, Die ihr der Anfang der Herzen scheint, You who seem the beginning of hearts, JOHANNES BRAHMS (1833–1897) Bogen der Pfeile und Ziele von Pfeilen, Bows for the arrows and arrows’ targets – Unbewegte laue Luft Op. 57 No. 8 Ewiger glänzt euer Lächeln verweint. Tear-bright, your lips more eternally smile. Two encores remain. The first, the negro spiritual Deep River, became a Hunt Fürchtet euch nicht zu leiden, die Schwere, Don’t be afraid to suffer; return Lieberson trademark, its text meaningfully telling of yearning for a promised land Gebt’ sie zurück an der Erde Gewicht; That heaviness to the earth’s own weight; Schwer sind die Berge, schwer sind die Meere. Heavy are the mountains, heavy the seas. on the other side of death. She even contrived, somehow, to sing it in the party scene of a production of Die Fledermaus at the Met one New Year’s Eve. The other, Selbst die als Kinder ihr pflanztet die Bäume, Even the small trees you planted as children Brahms’s Unbewegte laue Luft, Op. No. , which sets a text by Georg Dauer and Wurden zu schwer längst; Have long since become too heavy; 57 8 Ihr trüget sie nicht. You could not carry them now. which was published in 1871, is Hunt Lieberson at her incomparable best, her Aber die Lüfte … aber die Räume … But the winds … but the spaces … singing simultaneously restrained and intense in the still, aromatic opening but bursting forth radiantly and ardently when the song takes its passionate flight. Stiller Freund Stiller Freund der vielen Fernen, fühle, Silent friend of many distances, feel Stephen Pettitt © 2007 Wie dein Atem noch den Raum vermehrt. How your breath enlarges all of space. Im Gebälk der finstern Glockenstühle Let your presence ring out like a bell Lass dich läuten. Das, was an dir zehrt, Into the night. What feeds upon your face Wird ein Starkes über dieser Nahrung. Grows mighty from the nourishment thus offered. Geh in der Verwandlung aus und ein. Move through transformation, out and in. Was ist deine leidendste Erfahrung? What is the deepest loss that you have suffered? Produced by Adam Gatehouse Ist dir Trinken bitter, werde Wein. If drinking is bitter, change yourself to wine. Remastering by Tony Faulkner Sei in dieser Nacht aus Übermanss In this immeasurable darkness, be the power Recorded live at Wigmore Hall, London, 30 November 1998 Zauberkraft am Kreuzweg deiner Sinne, That rounds your senses in their magic ring, Director: John Gilhooly Ihrer seltsamen Begegnung Sinn. The sense of their mysterious encounter. Wigmore Hall Live — General Manager: Helen Peate; Head of Sales and Marketing: Claire Hargrove Und wenn dich das Irdische vergass, And if the earthly no longer knows your name, Front cover photograph of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson © J. Henry Fair Zu der stillen Erde sag: Ich rinne. Whisper to the silent earth: I’m flowing. Photograph of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson on page 6 © Anne-Marie Le Blé Zu dem raschen Wasser sprich: Ich bin. To the flashing water say: I am. Photograph of Roger Vignoles on page 8 © Matthew Ford Manufactured by Repeat Performance Multimedia, London (Rainer Maria Rilke 1875–1926)

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she said. ‘Whether you’re talking about Piaf or (Friedrich Rückert 1788–1866) English translations by Richard Stokes Pavarotti, the great voices have a way of illumi- nating their soul.’ The death of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in July 2006 extinguished the most GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL luminous voice of our time. I heard the news in Scherza Infida from Ariodante New York from a friend in London who liked to say Recitativo that he would fly anywhere in the world to hear E vivo ancora? E senza il ferro, Am I still alive, and without the iron rod? her sing. ‘Right now, the BBC is playing her recor- Oh! Dei! che farò? Oh! Gods! What shall I do ding of Ich habe genug [Bach’s cantata about Che mi dite, o affanni miei? and who will tell me? Oh my anxieties! longing for death]’, he said. ‘It’s almost too much Aria to bear.’ Scherza infida in grembo al drudo, What treacherous trick has landed me Everything about this remarkable woman was almost too much to bear. As Io tradito a morte in braccio, in the lap of the paramour? with Maria Callas, whom she matched in volcanic intensity, her performances Per tua colpa ora men vo. It is your fault that I am here, Mà a spezzar l’indegno laccio, betrayed into the arms of death. took you so deeply into what she was singing about that the experience verged on Ombra mesta e spirito ignudo, But, sad and revealed spirit, in order to dispel this unjust voyeurism. Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was perhaps the most innately tragic singer Per tua pena io torneró. death sentence and to punish you I will turn back. since Callas. ‘I don’t know why’, she once told me, ‘but sorrow comes naturally to As with rosy steps from Theodora me.’ Her radiant, dark-textured voice was at once stalwart and melancholy. Ideal for Handel’s noble abandoned heroines, it was the only light in the forest. As with rosy steps the morn, I first encountered her at a private concert in New York as Lorraine Hunt, years Advancing, drives the shades of night, So from virtuous toil well-borne, before she added the surname of the gifted American composer Peter Lieberson, Raise Thou our hopes of endless light whom she married in 1999. I stood five feet from her as she sang a mesmerizing Raise Thou our hopes of endless light.

group of Spanish songs. Afterwards I went up to her and said, ‘You have one of Triumphant saviour, Lord of day, the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. Who are you?’ Thou art the life, the light, the way! ‘I’m a violist’, she said with the hint of a smile. Triumphant saviour, Lord of day, She had indeed been supporting herself as a freelance violist in Boston, after Thou art the life, the light, the way! moving there from her native California in the early 1980s. She was twenty-six As with rosy steps … when she took up vocal studies after her viola was stolen from her loft. She began as a lyric soprano, but gradually found her comfort zone as a mezzo. An early 6 11 b67610a.qxd 19/12/2006 19:33 Page 10

Um Mitternacht mentor, the conductor Craig Smith, located the secret of her vocal distinction in Um Mitternacht At midnight the instrument she had studied since childhood. ‘A viola is a middle voice’, he Hab’ ich gewacht I kept watch said. ‘It has to be alert to everything around it.’ Und aufgeblickt zum Himmel; And looked up to heaven; Kein Stern vom Sterngewimmel Not a star in the galaxy Among today’s outstanding mezzos (Bartoli, von Otter, Borodina, Graham, et Hat mir gelacht Smiled on me al.) Hunt Lieberson was the arch-maverick. She limited her repertoire to only Um Mitternacht. At midnight. those projects in which she could be wholly herself: Baroque rarities by Rameau Um Mitternacht At midnight and Charpentier; radical stagings of Handel and Mozart operas; Britten’s Phaedra Hab’ ich gedacht My thoughts went out monologue; the premieres of Mr Lieberson’s Buddhist opera Ashoka’s Dream and Hinaus in dunkle Schranken. To the dark reaches of space; John Adams’ oratorio El Niño; her belated triumph at the Met as Dido in Berlioz’ Es hat kein Lichtgedanken No shining thought The Trojans. Like Kathleen Ferrier and Janet Baker, two singers whom she revered, Mir Trost gebracht Brought me comfort Um Mitternacht. At midnight. she ennobled everything she touched. Listen to her rendition of ‘Lord, to thee each night and day’ from the oratorio Theodora, included in a collection of Handel Um Mitternacht At midnight arias on the Avie label, and you will feel that mankind may be redeemable after Nahm ich in acht I paid heed Die Schläge meines Herzens; To the beating of my heart; all. Ein einz’ger Puls des Schmerzens A single pulse of pain I got to know Hunt Lieberson in 2003 while writing a profile of her for The New War angefacht Was set alight Yorker. Although she was militant about her privacy, she allowed me to watch Um Mitternacht. At midnight. her prepare for concert performances of Pelléas et Mélisande, with the Boston Um Mitternacht At midnight Symphony Orchestra. She immersed herself so thoroughly in every nuance – Kämpft’ ich die Schlacht, I fought the fight, linguistic, musical, emotional – of Debussy’s mysterious heroine that the usual O Menschheit, deiner Lieden; O mankind, of your afflictions; lost waif emerged as a full-bodied woman in palpable pain. nicht konnt’ ich sie entscheiden I could not gain victory When the director Peter Sellars first heard her sing he said it was like being in Mit meiner Macht By my own strength Um Mitternacht. At midnight. a ‘raging forest fire’. One night in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where she and her husband lived in an adobe house high in the hills, we went to the movie Mystic Um Mitternacht At midnight River. When the lights went up, she went into a fury over what she felt was Sean Hab’ ich die Macht I gave my strength In deine Hand gegeben! Into Thy hands! Penn’s ‘overwrought’ (and, later, Oscar-winning) performance. As her voice rose, Herr über Tod und Leben, Lord over life and death, I realized that what she was really doing was warning herself against the temp- Du hältst die Wacht Thou keepest watch tation to indulge in histrionics at the expense of truth. Um Mitternacht. At midnight. She never fell into that trap, either in her art or in her life. Six years ago, she Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen underwent a lumpectomy for breast cancer and was later advised to have chemo- Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, I am lost to the world therapy. She opted for unconventional treatment in Switzerland. In January 2006, Mit der ich sonst viele Zeit verdorben. With which I used to waste much time; she learned of the cancer’s recurrence. After she died, one of her closest friends Sie hat so lange nichts von mir vernommen, It has for so long heard nothing of me, Sie mag wohl glauben, ich sei gestorben. It may well believe that I am dead. said to me: ‘There’s no point in second-guessing what she should have done. She Es ist mir auch gar nichts daran gelegen, Nor am I at all concerned could only do it her way. She was Lorraine.’

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ROGER VIGNOLES GUSTAV MAHLER The pianist Roger Vignoles is one of Britain’s most Fünf Rückert Lieder (1901–2) outstanding musicians. Originally inspired by the Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft playing of Gerald Moore, he decided on leaving Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft. I breathed a gentle fragrance. university to pursue a career as a piano accompanist, Im Zimmer stand In the room stood completing his essential training with the distin- Ein Zweig der Linde, A spray of lime, Ein Angebinde A gift guished Viennese-born teacher Paul Hamburger. Von lieber Hand; From a dear hand; Since then reviewers worldwide have consistently Wie lieblich war der Lindenduft! How lovely the fragrance of lime was! recognized his distinctive qualities as a player. Wie lieblich ist der Lindenduft! How lovely the fragrance of lime is! Among his first partners was the great Swedish Das Lindenreis The spray of lime soprano Elisabeth Söderström, whom he regularly Brachst du gelinde; Was gently plucked by you; Ich atme leis Softly I breathe accompanied throughout the 1970sand ’80s. During Im Duft der Linde In the fragrance of lime this period, he also developed particularly fruitful Der Liebe linden Duft. The gentle fragrance of love. collaborations with Dame Kiri te Kanawa; with Sir Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! Thomas Allen, recording many works including Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder! Do not look into my songs! Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Schubert’s Winterreise; and with Sarah Walker, in a Meine Augen schlag’ ich nieder, I lower my gaze, wide repertoire of song, from German Lieder and French Mélodies to cabaret Wie ertappt auf böser Tat; As if caught in the act; songs by Gershwin, Britten and others. Selber darf ich nicht getrauen, I cannot even dare Ihrem Wachsen zuzuschauen: To watch them growing: In 1997, the Schubert year, he devised and directed at the Queen Elizabeth Deine Neugier ist Verrat! Your curiosity is treason! Hall in London a week-long series entitled ‘Landscape into Song’, in which his Bienen, wenn sie Zellen bauen, Bees, when they build cells, culminating performance of Winterreise with Robert Holl was described by The Lassen auch nicht zu sich schauen, Let no one watch either, Times as ‘one of the most memorable performances of the year’. In 1998 he Schauen selbst auch nicht zu. And do not even watch themselves. inaugurated the Nagaoka Winter Festival in Japan, giving recitals and master- Wenn die reichen Honigwaben When the rich honeycombs Sie zu Tag befördert haben, Have been brought to daylight, classes based on Winterreise and has subsequently returned each year as artistic Dann vor allen nasche du! You shall be the first to taste! director. Among his recordings, La Belle Epoque with Susan Graham (devoted to the Liebst du um Schönheit Liebst du um Schönheit, O nicht mich liebe! If you love for beauty, O love not me! songs of Reynaldo Hahn), Nuits d’Etoiles with Véronique Gens (Fauré, Debussy, Liebe die Sonne, sie trägt ein goldnes Haar. Love the sun, she has golden hair. Poulenc), and a CD of Strauss, Mahler and Marx with Katarina Karnéus all have Liebst du um Jugend, O nicht mich liebe! If you love for youth, O love not me! been nominated for Gramophone awards, while his recording of Beethoven songs Liebe den Frühling, der jung ist jedes Jahr. Love the spring, which is young each year. with Stephan Genz on Hyperion won the 1999 Award in the song category. Recent releases include the complete Wolf Mörike Lieder with Stephan Genz and Joan Liebst du um Schätze, O nicht mich liebe! If you love for riches, O love not me! Liebe die Meerfrau, sie hat viel Perlen klar. Love the mermaid, who has many shining pearls. Rodgers, Canciones amatorias – a CD of Spanish Songs with Bernarda Fink – and Strauss songs with Christine Brewer. Liebst du um Liebe, O ja mich liebe! If you love for love, ah yes, love me! Liebe mich immer, Dich lieb’ ich immerdar. Love me always, I shall love you ever more. 8 9 b67610a.qxd 19/12/2006 19:33 Page 8

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Ob sie mich für gestorben hält. If it should think me dead. LORRAINE HUNT LIEBERSON Ich kann auch gar nichts sagen dagegen, Nor can I deny it, By Charles Michener Denn wirklich bin ich gestorben der Welt. For truly I am dead to the world. Ich bin gestorben dem Weltgetümmel, I am dead to the world’s tumult I once asked one of New York’s most esteemed Und ruh’ in einem stillen Gebiet. And rest in a quiet realm. voice teachers, Beverley Johnson, what quality Ich leb’ allein in meinem Himmel, I live alone in my heaven, distinguished a truly great singer. ‘An inner light’, In meinem Lieben, in meinem Lied. In my loving, in my song. she said. ‘Whether you’re talking about Piaf or (Friedrich Rückert 1788–1866) English translations by Richard Stokes Pavarotti, the great voices have a way of illumi- nating their soul.’ The death of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in July 2006 extinguished the most GEORGE FRIDERIC HANDEL luminous voice of our time. I heard the news in Scherza Infida from Ariodante New York from a friend in London who liked to say Recitativo that he would fly anywhere in the world to hear E vivo ancora? E senza il ferro, Am I still alive, and without the iron rod? her sing. ‘Right now, the BBC is playing her recor- Oh! Dei! che farò? Oh! Gods! What shall I do ding of Ich habe genug [Bach’s cantata about Che mi dite, o affanni miei? and who will tell me? Oh my anxieties! longing for death]’, he said. ‘It’s almost too much Aria to bear.’ Scherza infida in grembo al drudo, What treacherous trick has landed me Everything about this remarkable woman was almost too much to bear. As Io tradito a morte in braccio, in the lap of the paramour? with Maria Callas, whom she matched in volcanic intensity, her performances Per tua colpa ora men vo. It is your fault that I am here, Mà a spezzar l’indegno laccio, betrayed into the arms of death. took you so deeply into what she was singing about that the experience verged on Ombra mesta e spirito ignudo, But, sad and revealed spirit, in order to dispel this unjust voyeurism. Lorraine Hunt Lieberson was perhaps the most innately tragic singer Per tua pena io torneró. death sentence and to punish you I will turn back. since Callas. ‘I don’t know why’, she once told me, ‘but sorrow comes naturally to As with rosy steps from Theodora me.’ Her radiant, dark-textured voice was at once stalwart and melancholy. Ideal for Handel’s noble abandoned heroines, it was the only light in the forest. As with rosy steps the morn, I first encountered her at a private concert in New York as Lorraine Hunt, years Advancing, drives the shades of night, So from virtuous toil well-borne, before she added the surname of the gifted American composer Peter Lieberson, Raise Thou our hopes of endless light whom she married in 1999. I stood five feet from her as she sang a mesmerizing Raise Thou our hopes of endless light. group of Spanish songs. Afterwards I went up to her and said, ‘You have one of Triumphant saviour, Lord of day, the most beautiful voices I’ve ever heard. Who are you?’ Thou art the life, the light, the way! ‘I’m a violist’, she said with the hint of a smile. Triumphant saviour, Lord of day, She had indeed been supporting herself as a freelance violist in Boston, after Thou art the life, the light, the way! moving there from her native California in the early 1980s. She was twenty-six As with rosy steps … when she took up vocal studies after her viola was stolen from her loft. She began as a lyric soprano, but gradually found her comfort zone as a mezzo. An early 6 11 b67610a.qxd 19/12/2006 19:33 Page 12

PETER LIEBERSON special affection in Hunt Lieberson’s ripely expressive performances of her from Five Rilke Songs husband’s music here.

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Total time: 59.22 A BBC recording