Vissi D’arte management presents Tamara Radjenović and Djordje Nesić in Review
Tamara Radjenović, soprano; Djordje Stevan Nesić, piano
Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, New York, NY
November 9, 2019
On November 9th the twenty-four-year-old Montenegrin soprano Tamara Radjenović, accompanied by Djordje Nesić, gave an unusual and rather uneven recital of mostly opera arias. When I saw the printed program, I was taken aback. I asked the usher where the texts and translations were. “This is all there is,” I was told. It is considered a given that at vocal recitals the texts and translations of all the songs on the program are distributed along with the program. I personally think that this should be the case even when the songs are in English, but not to do so for songs in a foreign language is unacceptable. In addition, we are usually supplied with program notes, which were missing. Ms. Radjenović’s biography was full of grammatical errors and awkward wording.
The program listed the first song as Sposa son disprezzata by Vivaldi. No information was given about the opera in which the aria appears. My investigation revealed that it is part of a pasticcio (an opera consisting of music by many composers) compiled by Vivaldi and entitled Bajazet. A Wikipedia article states that Sposa son disprezzata was composed by Geminiano Giacomelli for his opera Merope. However, another source claims the composer was Francesco Gasparini. In any case, it was not by Vivaldi! I found this aria to be a surprising choice for the beginning of a recital, as one usually begins with something easily singable. Sposa son disprezzata, a slow and tragic aria sung by an abandoned wife, places great demands on breath control and dynamic contrast. Ms. Radjenović, a talented actor, was dramatically convincing. The vocal challenges, however, were somewhat beyond her.
The next selection was “Deh vieni non tardar” from Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro. This popular aria is well suited to Ms. Radjenović’s charming persona and youthful voice. The next two arias, Prendi, per me se libero from L’eliser d’amore by Donizetti and O! quante volte from Bellini’s I Capulete e i Montecchi, are well-known soprano warhorses, perhaps somewhat overly ambitious for the young Ms. Radjenović. There followed a pleasant and soothing rendition of Chopin’s Nocturne No. 20 in C-sharp minor played by Mr. Nesić.
After intermission, Ms. Radjenović performed Quando me’n vo, from Puccini’s La Boheme. As her appearance suits this role, one could easily imagine her being cast in it at some future point. After all these operatic arias, this listener was glad to hear four works actually written for voice with piano accompaniment. The first three were by the Spanish composers Fernando Obradors and Joaquin Rodrigo. The last of the set, L’énamourée, by Reynaldo Hahn with its lovely simplicity, was particularly effective. Which brings me to my main reservation about this concert. Opera is the very most demanding technically of all vocal music. It demands that one’s vocal technique be fully in place. This is rarely the case when one is twenty-four years old. Even the most experienced opera singers, when giving a vocal recital, usually concentrate on music written originally for voice and piano. It is my opinion that Ms. Radjenović would have more success in performing art songs carefully selected to showcase her artistry as it now stands. Her present accomplishments are not slight. She imparts sincerity, vulnerability and true loveliness of sound in her middle range.
After the Hahn selection, Mr. Nesić continued in the soothing French realm with a beautiful rendition of Debussy’s Clair de Lune. The concert ended with a lively rendition of Je veux vivre from Gounod’s Romeo et Juliette. In response to a standing ovation, her encore was a lively rendition of Luigi Arditi’s waltz song “Il Bacio.”
