If their mainstage operas are the larger jewels in Wolf Trap Opera’s crown, it can be said that their Salon Series recitals are the smaller gems, but no less critical to that crown’s design. This final recital in the company’s series featuring Angela Yam and Korin Thomas-Smith was not just important, but a rare gem indeed in that it included original compositions and poems by the performers, who showed themselves to be true musicians as such.
Yam began the program, which she described as being about identity, with Debussy’s “Rondel chinois.” Exceptionally impressive especially for someone who had their first voice lesson at eighteen, Yam brought the same crystal-clear tone and ringing, pinpoint-like intonation that she brought to her stepsister role in La Cenerentola earlier in the season. Particularly memorable was her singing in Chinese, and she displayed a great compositional style, writing “From the Taiwan Cypress in Alishan” for herself. There were some really since crescendi and decrescendi there, and perfect English diction. She also sang a setting of Shakspeare’s “Where the Bee Sucks” written for her by Nathan Halbur, and it showed by how good it sounded in her voice. Likewise, Thomas-Smith wrote a setting of Emily Dickinson’s “Why do they shut me out of heaven?” for her, and one could not help but love how original it was, that it took care to do different things than Aaron Copland’s setting.
Thomas-Smith’s first solo of the evening was a piece with both text and music by Yam, “If you were a frog (Wishing for a Little Brother),” which was all charm and delight. His song cycle offering for the evening, Peter Tiefenbach’s “The Long Walk Home,” was a tribute to his home country of Canada, as it is set in a winter night on the streets of Toronto. Here there were fun Latin rhythms to enjoy, and Tiefenbach kept it interesting with changes in the music depending on text and emotion. Thomas-Smith demonstrated great clarity of diction and acting with this set, a great sense of play that made the text feel very natural.
With a cameo by Arianna Zukerman, Thomas-Smith and Yam presented “Getting Married Today” from Stephen Sondheim’s Company. Yam nailed Amy’s panicked patter. She seemed perfect for the role. Let us hope we get to see her feature in a full production of that show soon!
Yam offered two other pieces, one of which showed off her remarkable facility for a jazzier style of singing: “I Like You, You’re Nice” by Blossom Dearie. Then, she sang “Exotic Asian Medley,” which seemed to celebrate her finding humor in her identity. As part of the delightful ongoing banter between herself and Thomas-Smith, Yam introduced the medley by pointing out that part of that identity is “An Asian woman interpreting the works of dead white men,” which earned her laughs from the audience. That medley included what felt like everything: Pieces of Madama Butterfly, The King and I, The Mikado, Flower Drum Song, South Pacific, and Miss Saigon, with Yam shifting character as often as the music demanded.
While the medley was the last piece on the program, the performers were not done yet. As a tribute to the friendship they developed over their time as young artists at Wolf Trap, Yam and Korin-Smith teamed up for the duet “Sisters” from White Christmas, complete with feather fans and headdresses. Even the pianist Joseph Li, who incidentally was fabulous as always on this recital, wore one, much to everyone’s enjoyment. This was the perfect way to end not only this recital but also the Salon Series this summer as a whole.
Maggie Ramsey
Wolf Trap Opera Salon Series
Claude Debussy – “Rondel chinois”; Aaron Copland – “Old Poem”; Huang Tzu – “Spring Nostalgia”; Angela Yam – “From the Taiwan Cypress in Alishan,” “If you were a frog (Wishing for a Little Brother)”; Nathan Halbur – “Where the Bee Sucks”; Korin Thomas-Smith – “Why do they shut me out of heaven?”; Peter Tiefenbach – “Prologue,” “Too Good…(To Be True…),” “Outta There,” “Message Received,” “The Hunger,” “Nearly Home,” “The Busker,” “Epilogue” (The Long Walk Home); Stephen Sondheim – “Getting Married Today” (from Company); Blossom Dearie – “I Like You, You’re Nice”; Dan Schlosberg – “Exotic Asian Medley”
Angela Yam – Soprano; Korin Thomas-Smith – Baritone; Joseph Li – Piano
The Barns at Wolf Trap, Vienna, VA, July 20, 2026