Tuesday, November 17, 1998
Battle cry
Diva Kathleen Battle
uses her voice as a tool to become her music and to take her
audience into another time and place
By Ai Goldsmith
Daily Bruin Contributor
It is said that music is the language of angels.
The exquisite voice of Kathleen Battle, which filled Royce Hall
last Saturday night, seems to be enough to convince even a skeptic
of the reason for such a saying.
Battle’s silvery soprano whispers of an infinite beauty and
serenity that makes one believe every beautiful image she sings of.
Her art is a gossamer web, and she is the muse that spins it.
Battle is a performer who moves and enchants her audience
through sweet sonority, rather than the weight and power of a
dramatic voice. Battle also knows the importance of choosing
repertoire that suits her voice type. The result of such planning
is a program dominated by art songs and lyrical arias that showcase
her flexibility between the octaves and flatter her light soprano
voice.
Accompanied by operatic conductor Ted Taylor on piano, Battle
presented selections from operas and oratorios by Handel and
Mozart. Battle then sang songs by Mozart, such as "In a Dark and
Lonely Wood" and "To Chloe," a love song.
"To Chloe" was followed by one of Richard Strauss’s collection
of songs, titled "Maiden as Flowers." This piece, with text by
Dahn, contains four short songs in which four types of women are
compared to cornflowers, poppies, ivy and waterlilies.
Battle sang these songs with sensitivity and flare. In the
coquettish "Poppies," her voice became more playful and joyous,
much to the audience’s delight. She sang many other pieces by
Gaetano Donizetti, French composer Gabriel Faure, Joaquin Turina
and Brazilian composer Heitor Villa-Lobos, ending with a set of six
spirituals, which are Battle’s signature recital pieces.
Throughout the performance, it was obvious that Battle was in
charge. She was in command of her voice, the accompaniment and the
audience – even when an audience member called out for medical
attention. After both she and the audience were assured of the ill
person’s well-being, Battle continued with the set. Her fluid voice
and commanding presence brought her listeners back to an idyllic
state without missing a beat.
Battle’s incredible stage presence also called for utmost
attention from the audience and accompanist Ted Taylor. She seemed
to perform through every aspect of movement or pause. Battle,
keeping with her trademark perfectionism, actually made Taylor stop
and start again to achieve the ideal sound. Ultimately, every
gesture was calculated to captivate the audience.
Yet, despite such diva-like indulgence and attitude, Kathleen
Battle exuded a sense of innocence, a child-like charm.
Battle seemed delighted with the audience’s response – some of
whom were ready to clap before the last note died away – and she
walked off the stage between pieces with a triumphant yet bashful
smile.
Battle’s stage presence is not the only thing that makes her a
diva. Her voice is like a finely tuned instrument: each note is
perfectly formed to produce a certain effect. She lingers or soars
through phrases, arpeggios and cadenzas; her technique is excellent
and polished; she knows how to float, to hang her voice in air.
Although Battle has great control over her voice and gestures,
she lacked some energy and zeal when she sang "On Louises’s
Letters" by Mozart. "On Louises’s Letters" is a piece in which the
character Louise angrily burns letters from her unfaithful lover.
The song calls for more anger than Battle expressed; adding more
ferocity would have infused the piece with more drama.
As for dramatics, Battle expressed a range of emotions through
voice and body language in the encore piece. She sang a selection
from an opera, Mozart’s "Marriage of Figaro."
In the encore piece, Battle’s face became radiant and her
gestures and expression became that of the character she was
singing about.
It was a wonderful transformation, beautifully bringing out her
love for her art. Battle’s encore performance revealed her passion
for the operatic stage, and she appeared to revel in the role.
Whether Battle sings art songs or opera, either she or her voice
takes on the persona of the words she sings.
As Battle sings "When she speaks, it is like the silvery/
murmuring of waves," in "Waterlily" from Strauss’s "Maiden as
Flowers," her voice becomes the image.
Battle’s clear, pure voice makes any aural, abstract image
tangible, making one "believe the dreams of elves that/ were ever
dreamt of by Romanticism." (Strauss, "Waterlily.")CENTER OF
PERFORMING ARTS
Kathleen Battle, one of the reigning divas of classical music,
exuded a childlike innocence at Saturday’s Royce performance.
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