Cover image: Kathleen Battle (photo courtesy artist)
A well attended, one-of-a-kind performance took place at Meany Theater Saturday night, as part of the Meany Center for the Performing Arts series. It may have started 25 minutes late, but it was well worth the wait: opera diva Kathleen Battle had returned to Seattle for a concert of spirituals and readings titled “Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey.”
Battle shared the stage with two local choirs: the Sound of the Northwest, directed by Juan Huey-Ray, and the UW Chamber Singers, directed by Geoffrey Boers; three readers, and her pianist, Joel Martin, in a finely designed, smoothly executed, and moving performance. 70 this year, the soprano has in times past been known as a demanding person to work with, but at this concert she could not have been more gracious and generous with her co-performers and with her singing.
She sang spirituals both familiar, like “Go Down, Moses” and “Balm in Gilead” (dedicated to the Emanuel 9), and less so, such as “Wade in the Water” (in which escaping slaves are secretly advised to get off the trail and walk in water to put slave-catcher dogs off the scent). For many of them, choir members sang the chorus or a section, conducted by Boers, and sometimes different choir members sang short solos. At times Battle and the choirs sang a cappella; at others, Martin, an accomplished jazz and classical pianist in his own right, played for them and sometimes went off into an extended, appreciated riff. For a few works, the choirs sang without her, such as a rousing performance of “Glory, Glory, Hallelujah.”
But the heart of the program was Battle and her still exquisite soprano voice, as fresh and beautiful as always. She did not belt out the spirituals; rather, she sang with a relaxed sound, never over loud, but expressive and with wonderful melismas, drawing out emphasis and giving extra meaning to words. Her soprano voice can range as high and as effortlessly as ever–she soared to many high Cs and even a high D at one point, never sounding strained. She should prove a fine example to singers who feel the need to add vibrato on every note. She used only a little, shading it to each note and phrase, so that every note came through clear and pure. It was a joy to hear her.
In between came short and pertinent readings, mainly from Harriet Tubman’s and Frederick Douglass’s writings, done by three members of the Sound of the Northwest. At the end, the entire audience joined in to sing “Lift Every Voice and Sing” from the words printed in the program.
All through, Battle insisted that each choir soloist take his or her own bow, as well as Martin and the two choirs and their directors. After the conclusion she had every one of those soloists and the readers come forward to bow with her, and then shared her bouquet of flowers with many of them. She also sang two encores, one of which was an intensely moving rendering of ‘Were You There?”
