Singing conductor proves electric
Barbara Hannigan Sings and Conducts K (out of 4) Barbara Hannigan, soloist and conductor. Toronto Symphony Orchestra. Roy Thomson Hall, 60 Simcoe St. Feb. 13. Repeats Feb. 14. tso.ca
There’s the occasional pianist or violinist who also conducts a concert while they’re performing, but Canadian soprano Barbara Hannigan is a rarity who can both sing and wave her arms at the same time.
She did both things very well in the first of two dates with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on Wednesday night at a roomy-seeming Roy Thomson Hall. It may be that winter fatigue has set in among Torontonians, but there were at least as many empty seats as filled ones in the auditorium.
Hopefully there will be more takers for the Valentine’s Day concert. Even though the whole program is not a toe-tapper, Hannigan’s show-tune finale is a dazzler, pretty much guaranteeing that people can leave the hall with a smile on their face.
Another reason for the meagre ticket sales may be the rest of the concert. It is rare for the TSO to program such a disparate collection of music, some of it not widely known. We veered from Claude Debussy to Jan Sibelius, then to Joseph Haydn and Alban Berg before a recent arrangement from George Gershwin’s show, Girl Crazy.
The concert began with the stage lights dimmed. TSO principal flute Kelly Zimba took a solo turn, from one of the balconies, in Debussy’s haunting Syrinx. The nuance in her phrasing and dynamics was stunning. Hannigan then took the orchestra straight into Sibelius’ tone poem Luonnotar, which includes a demanding soprano part.
Both works were written in 1913, but stylistically they are very different — Debussy is sensual while Sibelius is stark — and they are not written in the same key. That made for a disjointed segue.
Haydn’s Symphony No. 86, one his Paris symphonies from 1786, brims with the composer’s witty pokes at Classical-era symphonic conventions. It served as a palate cleanser of sorts. Hannigan’s command of the orchestra faltered a couple of times, but it was generally a clean, nicely articulated interpretation.
After intermission, we entered the world of love, first seen through the nihilistic lens of Berg’s Symphonic Pieces from the Opera Lulu, where a once comfortably off woman is reduced to prostitution before being murdered by Jack the Ripper.
Call this anti-Valentine’s Day music, right down to the ex- pressive but largely atonal score. Hannigan was fully in command here, owning both the stage and the hall.
Then, just as we collectively were ready to reach for the razor blades, the soprano took us on a breezy ride down Tin Pan Alley with Gershwin’s old hits, “But Not for Me,” “Embraceable You” and “I Got Rhythm.” The orchestra even joined in vocally, mimicking their conductor.
The arrangement by Hannigan and Bill Elliott echoes Berg’s orchestral effects several times, making for a compelling pairing.
But it is Hannigan’s all-in performance that really pulled the evening together.
We can debate how right it is to see the vocal soloist flapping her arms (for conducting reasons) whether or not the words are appropriate to the movement. But Hannigan’s bravery, talent and voice are worth experiencing in any setting.