SOPRANO DIGS DEEP INTO SOUTHERN CHURCH ROOTS
This fall, San Diego Opera gave three acclaimed opera singers the chance to tailor their own recital programs without the requirement to sing any arias.
As a result, the eclectic concerts have reflected the non-opera musical passions of its performers. Mezzosoprano Stephanie Blythe performed songs written by American Songbook lyricist Johnny Mercer, and on Dec. 3 in Escondido, Mexican tenor Arturo Chacón-Cruz will perform mariachi, zarzuela and Italian songs.
For Michelle Bradley, the celebrated soprano who made her company debut two years ago in the title role of San Diego Opera’s “Aida,” her program at two concerts Saturday and Sunday was inspired by her faith, her Southern roots and her experience as a Black woman.
In her second of two generous two-hour recitals at the Baker-Baum Concert Hall in La Jolla on Sunday, Bradley sang a mix of religious-themed song cycles, spirituals, songs by Black composers and songs written for her operatic idol, the famous Black soprano Leontyne Price.
The intimate BakerBaum hall has such perfect acoustics that microphones
aren’t needed and a whisper can be heard in the balcony. But Bradley didn’t hold back the rich, robust voice that made her the toast of Europe before the pandemic. Exhibiting perfect pitch and f lawless extended top notes, she sang to the near-capacity crowd of 500 with the same energy and commitment she gave in “Turandot” performances last month at the 3,800-seat Metropolitan Opera in New York.
Bradley sings with im
peccable technique and grace, but her stage demeanor is warm, approachable and inclusive. Between songs, she talked about her childhood in Versailles, Ky., her struggles with low selfesteem in her teens, her grief over losing her parents in her 20s, her career challenges during the pandemic, and her desire for unity and healing after the racial and political turmoil of the past few years. What got her through all these tough times, she said, was singing and her Christian faith.
Among the concert highlights was her playful performance of “The Serpent” from Lee Hoiby’s “Songs for Leontyne,” her impressive vocal f luidity in Henry Purcell’s “The Blessed Virgin’s Expostulation,” and a lovely rendering of “Sympathy (I know why the caged bird sings),” featuring a poem by Black poet Paul Laurence Dunbar set to music by Black composer Florence Price. The concert’s centerpiece was Samuel Barber’s 10-song “Hermit Songs” cycle, where she showed off her versatility in different vocal styles, tempo and vocal register.
But where she really came alive was at the end of the concert, where she sang the spirituals she grew up singing in church, including a clap-along version of “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands.” Bradley’s recital included a costume change and multisong encore. For a few songs, she accompanied herself on the piano to two favorite faith-related songs, and she closed with a fierce performance of “Visse d’arte” from “Tosca,” a role she’ll debut in early 2022 at Lyric Opera of Chicago.