~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA announcer and producer of Classical Austin

What a thrill it was to hear the great American mezzo-soprano Denyce Graves with the Austin Symphony Orchestra. While it was an all-French program, it was a rare treat to have music from such different sources. It was interesting hearing the differences in the timbre Ms. Graves’ voice in Ravel’s hauntingly sumptuous and exotic Shéherazade to the vocal colors she used in the arias, which were delivered in full operatic throttle. There were a few sobs heard as she sang Saint-Saens’ “Mon coeur s’ouvre à ta voix” from Samson et Dalila, but when she came back on stage to sing arias from another one of her signature roles, Carmen, we had a taste of the opera itself. In the Habanera, “L’amour est un oiseaux rebelle,” Ms. Graves gave us some very creative, playful phrasing the likes of which I had not yet heard on recordings.

The Austin Symphony under the direction of Maestro Peter Bay was in fine form with the soloist and in the instrumental pieces, the highlight for me being, Maurice Ravel’s, “La Valse.”

Denyce Graves and KMFA's Dianne Donovan

[Dianne Donovan had the great honor of interviewing Ms. Graves while she was in Austin for her performance with the Austin Symphony. If you missed that episode of Classical Austin, you can listen to it again here.]

~posted by Dianne Donovan, KMFA announcer and producer of Classical Austin