Musical diversity in captivating soprano recital (Live at Lunch, Royal Opera House, 27.05.2022)

After two consecutive weeks of ballet/dance Live at Lunch performances at the Royal Opera House, featuring The Royal Ballet dancers (on the 13th of May) and The Royal Ballet School's students (the 20th of May), we were treated to a lovely recital, given by the soprano Isabell Peters and the pianist Joe Cummings.

We heard a fantastic variety of songs and arias in many different musical styles and languages, which took us on an enriching and captivating musical journey. Isabelle Peters chose her repertory very well - not only was it diverse but also ideally suited her voice. She began with an English song My Life's delight from R. Quilter, then swiftly introduced her first musical "block", consisting of French composers: Massenet, Duparc and Debussy. With a beautiful musical flow, Isabelle set up an atmosphere from very early on in Paul Hamlyn's Haul.

In the second musical "block", she interpreted three German composers: Beethoven, Brahms and R. Strauss; Isabell sang Marcellina's aria from Beethoven's Fidelio, a sadder and more reflective song from Brahms and two diverse songs from R. Strauss. Later on, and, as a counter-point to the German language (her favourite to sing in), she sang two pieces in Italian and Russian. The Italian "piece" was Mimi's aria Mi chiamano Mimmi from Puccini's La Bohème and the Russian "part" was represented by Rachmaninov's Zdes khorosho. If in the first part she set up a mood, in the second part she de definitely captivated the public with an emotional interpretation of all diverse songs and arias - particularly of Mimi's aria. I felt that the public did not move and probably did not even breathe when her voice spread out and beautifully resonated in the second part of this aria.

Isabelle's versatility continued to show with two of Mozart's arias: Susanna's aria (from Le Nozze di Figaro) and Servilia's aria (from La Clemenza di Tito), followed by three songs from American, English and Anglo-Canadian composers: Gershwin, Britten and Willan.

She chose to say goodbye with Grieg's song Ein Traum, a song that she likes very much. Joe Cummings accompanied her at the piano all the time with equal passion and engagement, rapidly changing the scores and adapting to each musical style.