|
They don't write 'em like that anymore.
Richard Rodgers composed some of the most clever, yet most singable tunes in the history of popular music. That's understandable, considering he seems to have written about half of the world's pop songs. Seven of his were on tonight's program. His memorable lyrics are so "everyman" that they are perhaps better sung in front of a small, up-close audience than a huge, anonymous crowd in a concert hall. I hadn't thought of this until Sylvia McNair walked into the room with a smile, stood next to the grand piano before us, and just started singing.
 This second performance in the Cartier Connoisseur Soirée series was held at the beautiful Red Rock Country Club, at the western edge of Las Vegas, and presented by the Las Vegas Philharmonic. Soprano vocalist Sylvia McNair was introduced by her old friend and fellow Ohio native, Harold L. Weller, the Philharmonic's conductor and music director.
Maestro Weller knew her as a violin student before she began her illustrious singing career. Tonight her musical accompaniment was provided by the accomplished pianist Ted Taylor on a Steinway grand, and the visual backdrop by the lights of Las Vegas outside the tall windows of the clubhouse.
 This was clearly one of the smaller audiences for which Ms. McNair has performed. The two-time Grammy winner has been a guest soloist with the New York Philharmonic and orchestras in Atlanta, Boston, Cleveland, Chicago, London, Salzburg, Berlin - heck, throw a dart at a globe. (If you hit Antarctica, try again.) She has sung world premieres of works commissioned especially for her and has even performed for Pope John Paul II. Her musical loves range from opera and classical concert works to Broadway musicals and cabaret. She has made over 70 recordings, including a recent live CD of Gershwin tunes for BBC Worldwide with Ted Taylor. Sound bites from her works are available at www.sylviamcnair.com.
I must confess I've never been partial to operatic singing, particularly by women. The main reason is that the high notes sound so unnatural to me. The singers' faces get distorted into unnatural positions, too. Sometimes their eyebrows seem to disappear into their hair! Sylvia has performed plenty of opera, but for tonight's music, she sang Broadway and cabaret tunes from her favorite composers of those genres. This called for her to sing mostly in more normal registers, allowing her natural expressions to convey the wit and emotions of the songs. Performing without a microphone, she occasionally sounded as if she were speaking the lyrics to us (except that she was right on key), which was perfectly suited to the intimate venue.
And what of the songs? Sylvia's selections were optimistic and uplifting. The opener, Stephen Sondheim's 'Everybody Says Don't', was a lively rebellion against conventional wisdom. There were also several sentimental love ballads, including the Jerome Kern song 'Bill', about a woman's extraordinary love for a very ordinary man. This song ended with the man's name being uttered so plainly and matter-of-factly by Sylvia that it came with a shrug. Charming! Later, the Rodgers tune 'Wonderful Guy' followed a similar theme in a poetically straightforward way. I thought women were supposed to be more inscrutable than that...
Well, okay - one or two songs weren't quite so jolly. Rodgers' 'Falling In Love/I Wish I Were In Love' conveys a bit of jaded cynicism, but the wry humor underlying the lyrics still makes it a load of fun. George Gershwin's 'Isn't It A Pity', from the musical 'Pardon My English', laments that the singer hadn't met her lover long before. Most of the ballads, though, were lovesick tributes such as Rodgers' sentimental 'What's The Use of Wonderin'', and the silly, old-fashioned 'A Sleepin' Bee' by Harold Arlen. How can this lady enjoy singing opera, with all its treachery and suffering? She just uttered the phrase, 'I'm as corny as Kansas in August'!
 Pianist Ted Taylor plays with such finesse and blends so well with his vocalist that he becomes almost aurally 'invisible' behind Sylvia's singing - except when playing a solo, when it's impossible to ignore his expressive energy. Besides his recent live CD with Sylvia, the Texas native has recorded with many other world-class singers. He is also a conductor who has performed with numerous opera companies, recently debuting with the New York City Opera, leading 'La Traviata'. He is on the faculty at the Mannes College of Music and has taught as a guest at other schools. We were awfully lucky to have these two here tonight. Given their busy careers, I'm surprised either of them had time!
 To end the performance, Sylvia sang 'With a Song In My Heart' - reportedly Richard Rodgers' favorite among the more than 900 tunes he composed. A very melodic ballad, it ended large, on a high note that showed the power behind the singer's finesse. Afterward I asked her if such singing was exhausting. She said it was usually less tiring for her than speaking! Some people were just made to sing.
Information on the Las Vegas Philharmonic, including performances and the Jaguar Raffle, is at www.lvphil.com
—
Reviewed December 10, 2002, By Robert LaGrone, Las Vegas Jetsetters Magazine Entertainment Editor.
|
|
