Anne Desler is a fine mezzo-soprano, who is also director of performance at the University of Edinburgh, Reid Music School. Sadly, there are few of her students present at today’s lunchtime concert, held in the splendid setting of the University’s Playfair Library. They are missing what is one of the finest operatic performances of the year!
Desler is a scholar of 18th-century Italian opera, and this is a recital of 17th- and 18th-century Italian love songs, some by famous composers such as Strozzi, Monteverdi and Vivaldi, others by lesser known composers. As she points out in her programme notes, the songs cover the whole range of emotions of falling in and out of love, and often offer funny, satirical comments about love too. The concert is aided by having the full text of the songs in Italian available, with the English translation by their side.
Desler doesn’t just sing these songs, she acts them in an operatic manner too, sometimes coming amongst the appreciative audience to make a dramatic point. She bends her excellent mezzo-soprano voice up and down the scale, and her body in operatic gestures, to interpret the songs: this is a truly great performance.
The performance is greatly assisted by the fine playing of expert accompanist, John Kitchen, on the harpsichord. He plays in a quiet, sensitive way that allows Desler’s voice to be heard, and he also gives us several solos to give Anne a breather. What is truly impressive is that Anne sings all these songs without a note of music in front of her, which allows her to express herself dramatically.
Contrast this with some very famous singers, who turn up to give a recital at the Edinburgh Festival and have their head firmly stuck in the song book! Singing is not just about the voice, but about communicating with the audience: difficult to do if your nose is in a book!
Desler’s students may be missing out on what performance is really about, but we who are present here are truly grateful for this superb, free concert.