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Ewa Podles Triumphant Again
By Philip Anson / January 31, 2001
On the Aisle
The phenomenal Polish contralto Ewa Podles is not scheduled to sing any opera at the stodgy, snobby Metropolitan Opera or the cliquish New York City Opera, so fans of this remarkable singer must content themselves with concerts such as her Jan. 31 appearance at Carnegie Hall with the Moscow Chamber Orchestra. The program of arias by Vivaldi, Gluck, and Handel offered more operatic thrills in one hour than you’d get at the Met all season. Simply put, Ewa Podles is a golden age singer stranded in an age of defensive mediocrity. Her incredible singing poses a triple threat to mezzos, contraltos, and countertenors, who would look bad and get less work if Podles’s true greatness were more widely known. No wonder she said in a recent interview that she has enemies.
Podles is an accomplished showman with a unique voice at her command. Her instrument is deep, high, colorful, flexible, and profound. You’d have to go back to the recordings of Marilyn Horne, Clara Butt, and Sigrid Onegin to find a comparable voice. She likes to sing Russian and Polish songs but she also specializes in the baroque coloratura arias by Vivaldi, Handel, Gluck, et al. Her performance of this repertoire at Quebec’s Lanaudiere Festival several year ago was an epiphanic experience for me.
At Carnegie Hall Podles was again amazing. Her voice unfolded as she warmed up with “Nel profondo” from Vivaldi’s Orlando furioso and “Sposa son disprezzata” from Bajazet. Gluck’s “Amour, viens” (Berlioz revision) from Orphée et Eurydice raised the room temperature a few degrees before the intermission.
When the crowd returned, Podles launched into a riveting rendition of Handel’s slow lament “Cara sposa” from Rinaldo. Her molasses rich tone and her brassy, ringing volume stood as irrefutable proof of the inferiority of countertenor Rinaldos. Likewise the bellicose war aria “Venti, turbini” was far more threatening coming from her than from a peeping male alto. Her fixed program ended with a powerful “Or la tromba” , again from Rinaldo. Podles was showered with bouquets and gave several encores: more arias from Gluck and Handel, including “Thy Hand Belinda” from Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas. Each encore was more deliriously received than the last.
The Moscow Chamber Orchestra played Grieg and Schnittke suites while Podles rested. They are not a very impressive ensemble. The Financial times called them “a rather scrappy itinerant band under the prosaic leadership of Constantine Orbelian.” They sound much better on Podles’s new “Handel Arias” recording (Delos 3252) which I highly recommend.
>Carnegie Hall
Copyright by Philip Anson (Questions or comments? Philanson@aol.com).
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