As part of their Midsummer Opera Dream festival this year, Canto Vocal Programs collaborated for the first time in its ten-year history with Loudoun Lyric Opera on an art song concert this week, facilitated by the inception of the Dreamscapes Performing Arts Center. Accompanied by the opera company’s artistic director Mark Irchai on piano and featuring professional vocalist Tess Ottinger, six of the Canto students prepared Lieder selections by Mahler, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss. Also featured on the program were two piano transcriptions of Lieder.
Immediately I liked the slightly more formal atmosphere of this event. Not only was each performer dressed in lovely concert attire, but also they each introduced their pieces with words they had prepared in English, to help the audience connect to what they were singing in German. Did it work? For the most part, yes, especially with Dreamscapes being such a good venue for art song. The smaller, more intimate setting meant that the audience could indeed connect more to the music because of their physical proximity to the performers. And, too, one imagines that, in the days when Schubertiads were held, composers and singers talked to the attendees about the pieces they presented. Dare we hope that art song gains a popular resurgence in this personable format of performers sharing their thoughts about and interpretation of their art so openly?
Mark Irchai and Neely Shah
Soprano Xiaoyue Guo opened the program with Mahler’s “Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald.“ Not only did she have beautiful tone and German diction, but also legato, which is so important for singing Mahler. One should feel able to picture the Austrian landscape in hearing his music, and here I absolutely saw tall, green trees and birds nesting. It must also be said that the Steinway piano donated by Lindeblad Piano for the festival felt like butter in Irchai’s hands, especially in pieces like this that demand legato from the pianist as well as the singer. What’s more, I could tell throughout the program that he was listening to the singers, of utmost importance for this kind of collaboration. Guo also sang Schumann’s “Widmung” later in the program, and the purity of her interpretation struck me. One could feel the joy Schumann felt at his marriage to Clara, for which occasion he wrote the piece.
Less demanding of legato is Brahms’s “Vergebliches Ständchen,” sung with excellent characterization by Caroline Dill. This is a classic Lied that allows for a great deal of playfulness, which she captured. Here I would have liked to have heard more playfulness in the piano by way of less legato, though Brahms did put many slurs into the score, and with the Steinway instrument naturally tending toward legato, there’s no question that this was a solid interpretation. Dill also sang the powerhouse Schubert piece “Gretchen am Spinnrade” later on. I would have loved to have heard more spin in the voice on this piece as it sometimes went into straight tone instead of blooming into vibrancy, but her diction and articulation were excellent. I also would have loved to have heard more drive from the piano, as this piece should feel relentless, despite the pause in the middle. In this interpretation, it felt like there was too much push and pull.
Mark Irchai
Bass Guan Wang’s selection of the first three songs from Schumann’s Dichterliebe suited both his voice and the Steinway. He brought a lovely, rich vocal tone to these songs, and Irchai’s playing felt extremely natural for Schumann, such that one felt able to get lost in the soundscape. Later, these two treated the audience to a sincere “An die Musik,” including us in the joy they find in their art.
Soprano Ally Johnson’s selections were Schumann’s “Frühlingsnacht” and Strauss’s “Ständchen.” Of note is that her stage presence lit up the room, and she brought a lovely sense of joy throughout the first piece that really engaged the audience. In the second, I was impressed by her commitment to acting, as well as how easy the high tessitura was for her.
Neely Shah offered three pieces: Schumann’s “Meine Rose” and “Der Nussbaum,” and Schubert’s “Ständchen.” Here is where I noticed the use of a music stand. To Shah’s great credit as a performer, the stand did not distract from the performance itself. Although I would have loved to see more facial expression and body engagement, I very much enjoyed her beautiful voice and the work she clearly put in to her German diction.
Tess Ottinger, fresh off of winning the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition, sang Brahms’s “Die Mainacht” and Schubert’s “Heidenröslein.” The particularly stunning thing about the presentation of these two pieces was the contrast between them. She brought a stillness to the first piece that felt appropriate, yet one could still follow her thought process. In the second piece, not only was there a good change of character, but I also heard a different, warmer color in her voice that was likewise appropriate.
Finally, to the piano transcriptions. What does it mean for the piano to be a character equal to the voice? This was introduced as a theme of the evening, and it was something achieved in every other piece on this program. Irchai as pianist not only listened to each singer, as mentioned before, but there was never a time in his collaboration with others when I questioned whether he and the piano were equal participants. So, despite his undeniably virtuosic playing, what happened when the vocal parts were stripped from these two pieces? They were sorely missed, and it no longer felt like the piano was an equal participant or character. In particular, “Erlkönig” missed the different character voices that bring so much color to the piece, as well as the dynamic contrast and the steady, relentless rhythm that maintains until the end in the piano-vocal version. Liszt’s transcription adds far too many changes in tempo and instead of having at least one genuinely softer moment to help build suspense, it assaults the listener’s ears, feeling especially violent toward the end when it almost loses all sense of pitch and rhythm amid the crush of sound.
Much more successful and enjoyable is the transcription of “Du bist die Ruh.” In his performance, Irchai brought out some gorgeous sounds and stunning dynamic contrasts that felt true to the text. That said, as this collaboration between Loudoun Lyric Opera and Canto continues, I would love to see future programs that both begin and end with vocal-piano pieces, in the spirit of making the piano an equal participant with the voice as well as giving program participants experience with duo collaboration. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for these two organizations working together.
Maggie Ramsey
Canto Vocal Programs: Art Songs With Loudoun Lyric Opera
Lieder
Gustav Mahler – ‘Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald‘; Richard Strauss – ‘Ständchen‘; Robert Schumann – ‘Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,‘ ‘Aus meinen Tränen spriessen,‘ ‘Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne‘ (Dichterliebe, Op. 48), ‘Frühlingsnacht‘ (Liederkreis, Op. 39), ‘Widmung,‘ ‘Der Nussbaum’ (Myrthen, Op. 25), Meine Rose (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem, Op. 90) Johannes Brahms – ‘Vergebliches Ständchen,‘ ‘Die Mainacht‘; Franz Schubert – ‘An die Musik,‘ ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade,‘ ‘Ständchen,‘ ‘Heidenröslein‘
Piano Transcriptions of Lieder
Franz Schubert Trans. Franz List – ‘Du bist die Ruh‘; ‘Erlkönig‘
Xiaoyue Guo, Ally Johnson, Neely Shah, Caroline Dill, Tess Ottinger – soprano; Guan Wang – bass; Mark Irchai – piano
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An Evening With Loudoun Lyric Opera Brings Art Song to Loudoun County
As part of their Midsummer Opera Dream festival this year, Canto Vocal Programs collaborated for the first time in its ten-year history with Loudoun Lyric Opera on an art song concert this week, facilitated by the inception of the Dreamscapes Performing Arts Center. Accompanied by the opera company’s artistic director Mark Irchai on piano and featuring professional vocalist Tess Ottinger, six of the Canto students prepared Lieder selections by Mahler, Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Strauss. Also featured on the program were two piano transcriptions of Lieder.
Immediately I liked the slightly more formal atmosphere of this event. Not only was each performer dressed in lovely concert attire, but also they each introduced their pieces with words they had prepared in English, to help the audience connect to what they were singing in German. Did it work? For the most part, yes, especially with Dreamscapes being such a good venue for art song. The smaller, more intimate setting meant that the audience could indeed connect more to the music because of their physical proximity to the performers. And, too, one imagines that, in the days when Schubertiads were held, composers and singers talked to the attendees about the pieces they presented. Dare we hope that art song gains a popular resurgence in this personable format of performers sharing their thoughts about and interpretation of their art so openly?
Soprano Xiaoyue Guo opened the program with Mahler’s “Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald.“ Not only did she have beautiful tone and German diction, but also legato, which is so important for singing Mahler. One should feel able to picture the Austrian landscape in hearing his music, and here I absolutely saw tall, green trees and birds nesting. It must also be said that the Steinway piano donated by Lindeblad Piano for the festival felt like butter in Irchai’s hands, especially in pieces like this that demand legato from the pianist as well as the singer. What’s more, I could tell throughout the program that he was listening to the singers, of utmost importance for this kind of collaboration. Guo also sang Schumann’s “Widmung” later in the program, and the purity of her interpretation struck me. One could feel the joy Schumann felt at his marriage to Clara, for which occasion he wrote the piece.
Less demanding of legato is Brahms’s “Vergebliches Ständchen,” sung with excellent characterization by Caroline Dill. This is a classic Lied that allows for a great deal of playfulness, which she captured. Here I would have liked to have heard more playfulness in the piano by way of less legato, though Brahms did put many slurs into the score, and with the Steinway instrument naturally tending toward legato, there’s no question that this was a solid interpretation. Dill also sang the powerhouse Schubert piece “Gretchen am Spinnrade” later on. I would have loved to have heard more spin in the voice on this piece as it sometimes went into straight tone instead of blooming into vibrancy, but her diction and articulation were excellent. I also would have loved to have heard more drive from the piano, as this piece should feel relentless, despite the pause in the middle. In this interpretation, it felt like there was too much push and pull.
Bass Guan Wang’s selection of the first three songs from Schumann’s Dichterliebe suited both his voice and the Steinway. He brought a lovely, rich vocal tone to these songs, and Irchai’s playing felt extremely natural for Schumann, such that one felt able to get lost in the soundscape. Later, these two treated the audience to a sincere “An die Musik,” including us in the joy they find in their art.
Soprano Ally Johnson’s selections were Schumann’s “Frühlingsnacht” and Strauss’s “Ständchen.” Of note is that her stage presence lit up the room, and she brought a lovely sense of joy throughout the first piece that really engaged the audience. In the second, I was impressed by her commitment to acting, as well as how easy the high tessitura was for her.
Neely Shah offered three pieces: Schumann’s “Meine Rose” and “Der Nussbaum,” and Schubert’s “Ständchen.” Here is where I noticed the use of a music stand. To Shah’s great credit as a performer, the stand did not distract from the performance itself. Although I would have loved to see more facial expression and body engagement, I very much enjoyed her beautiful voice and the work she clearly put in to her German diction.
Tess Ottinger, fresh off of winning the National Association of Teachers of Singing competition, sang Brahms’s “Die Mainacht” and Schubert’s “Heidenröslein.” The particularly stunning thing about the presentation of these two pieces was the contrast between them. She brought a stillness to the first piece that felt appropriate, yet one could still follow her thought process. In the second piece, not only was there a good change of character, but I also heard a different, warmer color in her voice that was likewise appropriate.
Finally, to the piano transcriptions. What does it mean for the piano to be a character equal to the voice? This was introduced as a theme of the evening, and it was something achieved in every other piece on this program. Irchai as pianist not only listened to each singer, as mentioned before, but there was never a time in his collaboration with others when I questioned whether he and the piano were equal participants. So, despite his undeniably virtuosic playing, what happened when the vocal parts were stripped from these two pieces? They were sorely missed, and it no longer felt like the piano was an equal participant or character. In particular, “Erlkönig” missed the different character voices that bring so much color to the piece, as well as the dynamic contrast and the steady, relentless rhythm that maintains until the end in the piano-vocal version. Liszt’s transcription adds far too many changes in tempo and instead of having at least one genuinely softer moment to help build suspense, it assaults the listener’s ears, feeling especially violent toward the end when it almost loses all sense of pitch and rhythm amid the crush of sound.
Much more successful and enjoyable is the transcription of “Du bist die Ruh.” In his performance, Irchai brought out some gorgeous sounds and stunning dynamic contrasts that felt true to the text. That said, as this collaboration between Loudoun Lyric Opera and Canto continues, I would love to see future programs that both begin and end with vocal-piano pieces, in the spirit of making the piano an equal participant with the voice as well as giving program participants experience with duo collaboration. I look forward to seeing what the future holds for these two organizations working together.
Maggie Ramsey
Canto Vocal Programs: Art Songs With Loudoun Lyric Opera
Lieder
Gustav Mahler – ‘Ich ging mit Lust durch einen grünen Wald‘; Richard Strauss – ‘Ständchen‘; Robert Schumann – ‘Im wunderschönen Monat Mai,‘ ‘Aus meinen Tränen spriessen,‘ ‘Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne‘ (Dichterliebe, Op. 48), ‘Frühlingsnacht‘ (Liederkreis, Op. 39), ‘Widmung,‘ ‘Der Nussbaum’ (Myrthen, Op. 25), Meine Rose (Sechs Gedichte und Requiem, Op. 90) Johannes Brahms – ‘Vergebliches Ständchen,‘ ‘Die Mainacht‘; Franz Schubert – ‘An die Musik,‘ ‘Gretchen am Spinnrade,‘ ‘Ständchen,‘ ‘Heidenröslein‘
Piano Transcriptions of Lieder
Franz Schubert Trans. Franz List – ‘Du bist die Ruh‘; ‘Erlkönig‘
Xiaoyue Guo, Ally Johnson, Neely Shah, Caroline Dill, Tess Ottinger – soprano; Guan Wang – bass; Mark Irchai – piano
Sterling, VA, July 22, 2025
Top image: Mark Irchai and Ally Johnson
All photos by Matt Hardy