Customer Reviews

All My Heart: Deborah Voigt Sings American Songs

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Like a lot of big operatic voices, Voigt is hard to capture on CD; her recordings of Wagner and Strauss excerpts are good, but they can't convey the experience of hearing her live in an opera house. And singing with only piano accompaniment, as here, she simply can't use most of the power in her voice. As sensitive as her performances are I can't help feeling that she's having to hold back. For American song sung with more delicacy and grace I would suggest Barbara Bonney or Dawn Upshaw (I can't agree with previous reviewers' suggestion of Cheryl Studer's Barber, though Hampson is wonderful on that set).

It's a shame that soprano Deborah Voigt hit her greatest notoriety last year for being fired by the Royal Opera House for being too fat for the title role of "Ariadne aux Naxos" by Richard Strauss. She subsequently lost eighty pounds but luckily none of her vocal prowess as can be heard to great effect on this intriguing collection of American songs, 25 in all and averaging a little over two minutes each. It would have seemed like a mismatch to apply her powerful voice - famous for her big Wagnerian roles - to sometimes delicate tunes. Voigt, however, confounds expectations with a surprisingly nuanced performance that showcases her interpretative skills on a diverse set of musical styles.

Similar to what countertenor David Daniels did with his 2003 disc with guitarist Craig Ogden, "A Quiet Thing", Voigt and pianist Brian Zeger have created a wide-ranging lyrical repertoire that encompasses significant vocal demands while remaining intimate in setting. In fact, both Daniels and Voigt cover Leonard Bernstein's anti-war lullaby, "So Pretty", with haunting aplomb. She also manages to dance effectively over the "Da-ga-da-ga-dums" of Bernstein's challenging "Piccola serenata". Voigt does wonders with the opening Charles Ives selections by not overplaying the innate sentiment of the tunes, in particular, soaring with the highly dramatic "The Children's Hour" by Longfellow and even covering the churchy warhorse, "At the River", with conviction.

There are eight highly individualistic songs by Ben Moore that stretch Voigt with bountiful results. The standouts of the Moore set are the English sea chantey-like "The Ivy-Wife" by Thomas Hardy, the lushly romantic "I Am in Need of Music" by Elizabeth Bishop; the sweeping "Darkling, I Listen" by John Keats; and the discordant waltz, "Bright Cap and Streamers", by James Joyce. For me, the highpoints of the recording are the last two sets by Charles Tomlinson Griffes and Amy Beach, both of whom tap impressively into Voigt's natural theatricality proven especially by her performances of Griffes's lush "Cleopatra to the Asp" and Bishop's rolling "I Send My Heart Up to Thee".

The one shortcoming of the recording overall is that the briefness of the songs does not really capitalize on Voigt's impressive dramatic capabilities in showcasing changes in characters she would have been allowed in her opera roles. For all the limitations it represents, this is a genuine recital album, and truly transcendent moments are fleeting at best especially given the variety of moods that need to be expressed in lightning-flash strokes. However, taken for the genre it represents, this is a stellar recording to appreciate a singer who is able to do more than Wagner and lose weight.

This is an interesting collection of American songs, but I don't feel that Ms Voigt sold these selections to me. She still sounds like an opera singer trying to squeeze a very powerful and large voice into smaller setting for these songs, with mixed success. She is much, much better than many of her fellow sopranos that tried such repertoire, but I feel that she only gets it right in Amy Beach and Griffes songs. And even there, she does not have a sound that would make every song recital fan happy.
And what's with the title of this album? I think she is a classy artist and deserves better than such silly title, her label probably came up with that.
Nice try overall, but I hope Ms Voigt will do more Strauss and Wagner from now on, not more songs like these.

Deborah Voigt is not only one of the more important sopranos before the public today in the Wagner and Strauss repertoire, she proves here that she can move with complete ease into the recital repertoire, making the intimacy of song as important as the grandeur of opera. A sidebar: after infamously being dismissed from consideration for the role of 'Ariadne auf Naxos' because the designer of the production felt her enormous girth would be less than believable in the proposed stage picture, Voigt had the dignity and courage to diet and exercise and reform her physical image to one of great beauty, informing us all that she not only respects the demands of the composers she serves but also the audiences she faces. That amount of chutzpah adds credence to the fact that this is an artist who is dedicated to her art and her career.

And as if that weren't enough to win hearts, Voigt here turns away from the drama and color of the big operatic literature and focuses her keen attention to the art of singing songs - and songs by American composers at that. On this fine recording she offers twenty three excellent songs spanning 150 years by composers Charles Ives, Amy Beach, Charles Griffes, Leonard Bernstein, and Ben Moore. Ably accompanied by Brian Zeger, Deborah Voigt brings to these songs clarity of enunciation of text, a sensitivity to style, a beauty of sound from the big voice we all know to soft delicacy for little songs intimately shared. The result is a fine recital of intelligence and beautiful music making.

Singers of the stature of Deborah Voigt are a treasure and she is to be applauded for her talent and her strength of character, both of which are in strong supply on this album. The only criticism lies not with Voigt or Zeger, but with the designer of this product who insists on corny titles like 'All My Heart', which vies for poor taste with the previous 'Obsession' title of her last recording. Take a look at the 'new' Deborah Voigt: take a listen to a fine lieder singer! Highly recommended. Grady Harp, September 05

It is great to hear Voigt in an American lieder recital. She is a top vocalist in her vocal prime. I think this is a lovely disc, and it really takes off especially with the songs of Ben Moore who has written many works just for Voigt. She tones down the volume of her sound and reins in the dramatic aspect of her soprano to give these songs a proper context and remains in service of them throughout the recital. Give this one a try! EMI - Release her Marshallin from Der Rosenkavalier, I think it would be wonderful. I know she just took on that role this summer.

This is a wonderful CD. Voigt has a direct style that communicates the meaning of the words clearly and effectively without the swooping and mannerisms that often plague opera singers in English language art songs. The sound is always beautiful and intimate, as though you're looking deep within her soul. But the meaning of the songs is what's on display here, as well as Voigt's uncanny ability to set the right mood for each piece. For me, the highlights are the Beach selections. I've heard her sing the Ives songs live and they come across quite well here. I wish she could have included a Jake Heggie song or two but you you can't have everything. Hopefully, she'll follow up with some showtunes or a Sondheim album. One can hope!

One last note: It is so obvious that the person who wrote the pan of this CD never listened to it. He hides behind an assumed name and doesn't mention specific criticisms or specific problems with the CD. He doesn't really mention the CD at all.

It was my first Deborah Voigt CD. It's true to her recitals. Wonderful voice, one you will never forget!

The header says it all. Thumbs down all the way. Get instead the Samuel Barber double set with Cheryl Studer and Thomas Hampson if you wish to experience true heartrending Americana. As another reviewer put it, you get no gimmicks and no camp from these two distinguished artists.

Did anyone dare say that Voigt is a competent interpreter of song? Since when? You want committed and gorgeous interpretations of some of the American classical song literature? Let me direct you then to the by now legendary recording of Samuel Barber's songs by two bona fide artists - Cheryl Studer and Thomas Hampson (with the Emerson String Quartet and the late pianist John Browning). "All the Heart" you may desire is contained there and then some. But without the gimmicks and the camp.

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