Review: In the Russian manner

I do not like enclosed spaces. I like them still less when they are below ground level. Therefore the Sagrestia Vault at the Valletta Waterfront, the walls of which are hewn out of the living rock and which has this persistent smell of dampness, is certainly not congenial to my claustrophobic disposition.

I went there simply because I wanted to listen to Joseph Lia at all costs.

Lia is a young Maltese baritone with a great future. He is, at present, at the State Conservatory in St Petersburg, Russia. He has, of course, become extremely Russian.

His voice has that unmistakable Russian timbre that suits the great baritone arias by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky and Rimsky, to name but three, but sounds almost odd when attempting Verdi or Donizetti.

There are, in fact, very few great arias for baritone in run-of-themill occidental opera while the Russian repertoire has loads of them. Could it be that Russian singers such as the legendary bass Chaliapin were so utterly unique in stature and power that the genre remained quintessentially Russian and influenced the timbre of all male voices to this very day?

Or does that particular deep sound originate in the sacred sound waves of Russian Orthodox chant? We have that superstar of a Hvorostovsky wowing audiences all over the world with a voice to die for and looks that kill. With his mane of white hair this baritone has brought Russian operatic music and song to the west big time and it is his lead that I feel would be right for Lia to follow.

I cannot imagine Lia belting out the diabolical Credo from Verdi’s Otello – at least not yet. I am also undecided as to what course his star should lead him on. I feel once the voice is fully developed he should tackle the contemporary: John Adam’s The WoundDresser and, when they are finally available, Peter Lieberson’s Songs of Love and Sorrow. Who knows?

Lia was joined by soprano Yana Ivanovna, and accompanied by Svetlana Magdalchuck at the piano. Both are graduates of the Rimsky-Korsakov State Conservatory in St Petersburg.

The programme was varied, ranging from two excerpts from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess to another two from Pergolesi’s La ServaPadrona. As in the case of Lia I much preferred Ivanovna’s Russian arias, especially one by Tatiana from Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin, which is as mesmerisingly beautiful as it is long and involved. It also showed Magdalchuck’s pianistic prowess and capacity for expression.

In fact, it is expression I wish to speak of in this context. Singing is not just about hitting the right notes, nor, is it all about gesture; above all it is about the ability to convey emotion through one’s expression.

The intrinsic beauty of the voice must be married to clarity. To do that , one must feel every nuance of the meaning of the prose or poetry that has been set to music. I truly felt it was only in the Russian pieces that this soulfulness, this emotion, came through, despite the fact that my Russian does not extend much further than ‘ da’ and ‘ nyet’!

Funnily enough, it did work in Dion Buhagiar’s Kenn L-Imħabba for baritone, premiered that evening, although at times Lia’s Maltese sounded distinctively Baltic!

Therefore, while I cannot say I did not enjoy the Pergolesi of Gershwin duets they do not even begin to compare to the magic of Rachmaninov’s Spring Waters, which I had never heard sung before as I had always seen it as a pas de deux of breathtaking virtuosity.

In fact, as I write, I am having great fun listening to all sorts of Russian baritone arias on Youtube as yesterday’s performance certainly put me in the mood for them.

What is very important in a vocal recital like this is that the audience knows what’s going on. As was the case in the performance of Rachmaninov’s Aleko last March at the Manoel, the subtitles made it possible for the audience to follow the plot and hence translate the music and the words into emotion.

This is why translations are required even in languages we are familiar with such as French and Italian . Many times, the sung word is so distorted it is unintelligible aurally; even more so when sung in a Russian accent and timbre.

Overcoming my phobia was worthwhile; however, the acoustics in that vault is oppressive. It amplifies high notes and renders them hard and metallic. Please, next time, somewhere more open and with more Russian songs and arias for us to enjoy.