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Tenor Stephen Costello took to the Folly Theater’s stage Saturday evening as the featured artist in the Harriman-Jewell Series’ twentieth American recital debut before an audience of nearly eight hundred. With previous alumni of the series including such major artists as Ben Heppner, Juan Diego Flórez, and Maxim Vengerov, as well as the first debut recital in the series, that of Luciano Pavarotti, it’s easy to see how being the twentieth American recital debut by the Harriman-Jewell Series brings high stakes and high expectations.

Though only five years into his professional opera career, Costello is no stranger to the stage, having performed in major opera houses around the world including Covent Garden and the Metropolitan Opera. In 2010, he starred as Greenhorn (Ishmael) in the high-profile world premiere of Jake Heggie’s Moby Dick. As Costello’s recital partner and former teacher, pianist Danielle Orlando also has an impressive résumé, serving as accompanist, judge, and artistic coordinator for Pavarotti’s International Voice Competitions and working closely with Gian Carlo Menotti for nine seasons at his Spoleto Festival, even serving as an editor for several of his compositions.

Still, the pressure of Saturday’s recital proved palpable for Costello, resulting in several significant gaffes along the way. The young tenor soldiered on though, and the recital was brought to a strong finish with a number of poignant musical moments had along the way.

Verdi’s “Questa o quella” from Rigoletto proved a rousing opening number that showcased the full power of Costello’s vocal instrument. Costello’s handsome good looks paired well with his expressive yet tempered facial expressions and a masculine yet sensitive presence.

A set of Tosti selections had some lovely moments showcasing the delicate side of Costello’s voice. In “Aprile,” the first instance of the text “È l’April!” was sung in a beautiful sotto voce tone. The final line of the song “Non t’amo più” was a moving final statement of the title text sung in a light falsetto, while the penultimate line of “Ideale,” “Una novell’aurora,” received a similar striking treatment.

Liszt’s Tre sonetti de Petrarca proved to be one of the defining moments of Costello’s American debut recital. The first two of the set, “Pace non trovo” and “Benedetto sia ‘l giorno,” were truly exquisite art songs that were sung with beautiful phrasing by Costello. Recital partner and pianist Danielle Orlando was able to delve fully into the Lisztian pianism of the works thanks to Costello’s vocal strength. Only on the highest note in “Pace non trovo” did the singer’s voice seem a bit strained in an otherwise impressive performance. However, the third song, “I’ vidi in terra angelici costumi,” saw a major memory slip by Costello, who was unable to find the right beat for his first entrance in an undulating piano texture. After finally taking a glance at Orlando’s piano score, the singer was able to make a suitable recovery and the song was successfully completed after the fourth start, with Costello jokingly wiping his brow at its conclusion and apologizing to the audience for his nervousness.

Though present before this mistake, Costello’s nervousness increased exponentially afterwards, for a while nearly becoming a third person on the stage. Apparently suffering from a chronically dry throat, the singer attempted to discretely clear his throat occasionally during piano preludes and interludes, though it was easily audible from my seat only four rows from the stage. He eventually brought out a bottle of water after leaving the stage in between selections in the middle of a song set to get a drink. Costello’s movement was also quite restrained, with his right hand seemingly glued to the piano’s lid for much of the recital. It wasn’t until the latter part of the second half that the nervousness seemed to dissipate and the tenor’s voice began to shine again.

Half-way through the second half of the program, Costello began to relax and have fun beginning with two English-language Tosti selections, “Pierrot’s Lament” and “Goodbye,” with “Goodbye” becoming one of the most moving selections on the program.

A second defining moment came as Costello paid homage to his Irish roots, singing a poignant rendition of “Danny Boy” wherein one got a glimpse of the tenor’s full potential.

Two encores, “Salut, demeure chaste et pure” from Gounod’s Faust and “Without a Song,” popularized by Perry Como and Frank Sinatra, were also well received.

Throughout all the bumps, one remarkable thing about this recital was that Costello never lost his audience; they seemed to genuinely be pulling for him, applauding his determination as he made his way through the rough spots.

REVIEW:
Harriman-Jewell Series
Stephen Costello, tenor in American recital debut
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Folly Theater
300 W 12th St, Kansas City, MO
For tickets call 816-451-5025 or visit http://hjseries.org

By Topher Levin

Classical Editor and Contributor

Christopher (Topher) Levin is a composer, pianist, music theorist, and music blogger based in Kansas City, MO. His compositions have been performed at music festivals across the US and in Europe. He has spent two summers in Paris, France studying music at the Ecole Normale de Musique through the EAMA program. His trio for clarinet, piano, and percussion is published in the SCI Journal of Scores.

Topher holds degrees from the University of Missouri-Kansas City (M.M.) in music theory and (M.M.) in composition and from James Madison University in Virginia (B.M.) in composition. Primary composition teachers have included John S. Hilliard, Paul Rudy, Zhou Long, James Mobberley, Chen Yi, Claude Baker, Narcis Bonet, Michel Merlet, and João Pedro Oliveira. His piano teachers have included Patricia Brady and Karen Kushner. Topher maintains a piano studio of 22 students.

Having recently completed a Master's thesis on the beautiful complexities of Chinary Ung's trio, Spiral I, Topher turned his writing attention to the more informal blogging medium. He has taken to it quite well, sharing posts on strange and wonderful music and art found across the web with a modest but growing number of blog followers. He looks forward to writing for KCM and sharing with its readers the stories of all the amazing musicians performing in Kansas City.