Renée Fleming is a true diva du jour. Her sumptuous soprano, dazzling technique and glamorous persona make her the complete package. Resplendently gowned, she cut an elegant figure at her Schubert Club recital Thursday at the Ordway. But she was utterly natural in the way she addressed the audience with eager enthusiasm about the program.
But her art finds its best expression in grand gestures. The intimacy of the recital did not show her off to her best advantage. In excerpts from "Rückert Lieder" by Gustav Mahler, her trademark soaring soprano overwhelmed the delicate songs. That may be why the program concluded with five arias.
The most enjoyable moments were the two from Ruggero Leoncavallo's "La Bohème." After passing on the libretto that Puccini set, the composer of "I Pagliacci" wrote his own text, including two arias in which Mimi and Musetta describe each other in not very flattering terms. Fleming can be forgiven some vocal exaggeration in the service of some droll comedy.
But "Donde lieta," from Puccini's "La Bohème" was less about the character of Mimi than about a diva showing off her voice. An encore of "O mio babbino caro" from Puccini's "Gianni Schicchi" was sung with a welcome disarming simplicity.
Fleming unleashed her luxurious voice in an over-the-top rendering of the death scene from Umberto Giordano's "Fedora."
Especially thrilling was "The Book of Hours: Love Poems to God," a cycle that jazz musician Brad Mehldau wrote for Fleming using poems by Rainer Maria Rilke. Despite some diction problems (which were disturbingly prevalent throughout the evening), she sang the challenging music with emotional commitment.
Equally successful was "Jane Grey" an Arnold Schoenberg song about the nine-day queen of England. Fleming embraced this post-Romantic monologue as a great dramatic scene and told a deeply felt story.
This was also true of three songs by Erich Wolfgang Korngold, which seemed particularly suited to her. She poured her heart into them, bringing some exquisite floated pianissimos expressively to bear.
