Jessica Pratt, foto Luis Condrò

JESSICA PRATT, soprano and VINCENZO SCALERA, pianoforte

Florence, Italy,  Saloncino del Teatro della Pergola, 2013 september 30th

Grand-opéra e dintorni (Grand opera and surroundings)

J. MASSENET: Ouvre tes yeux bleus
C. GOUNOD: Serenade
A

. BACHELET: Chère nuit
C. DEBUSSY: Quatre Chansons de jeunesse
E. DELL’ACQUA: Villanelle
L. DELIBES: Les Filles de Cadix
G
. MEYERBEER: O beau pays de la Touraine! (da Les Huguenots)
G. ROSSINI: Sombre Forêt (da Guillaume Tell)
A. THOMAS: A vos jeux, mes amis  (Scena della pazzia di Ophelia, da Hamlet)

The title of Jessica Pratt’s recital in Florence is really evocatory but we must take it not literally: Grand-opéra e dintorni (Grand-opéra and surroundings). In fact the programme of this beautiful concert contains salon music and arias from French and Italian operas, but all of French background or subject (even if it is difficult to justify Debussy’s musics in the general context), and more specific operatic pages by Meyerbeer, Rossini and Thomas, and at the end more Italian operas with two encores by Donizetti (Linda di Chamounix) and Bellini (La Sonnambula).

Young Australian soprano Jessica Pratt shows a distinguished voice, that lets its mark even from the first listening: her voice is beautiful, bright, with a considerable volume and extension, with a very wide palette of colours and sound dynamics, secure in her high notes and flawless in intonation. She shows familiarity with French language. Probably she lacks a strong accent that could improve the meaning of the phrases (this is more evident in Italian arias of the two encores), but an artist like her is able to capture the attention of the listeners.

Jessica Pratt

Among the salon musics of the first part of the concert (some of them are really of poor importance musically, even if Primadonnas like them very much) the rendering of Gounod’s Serenade and famous Les Filles de Cadix by Leo Delibes were really wonderful
.
In the second part of this concert, opera arias take their place with very interesting renditions both tecnically and as an interpreter. Above all we remember A vos jeux, mes amis, the Madness Scene from Thomas’ Hamlet, memorable not only for the extraordinary technics, but also for the interpretation, moving in some moments and musical phrases
. The two encores were on the same very high level.
The pianist is a real champion, italo-american Vincenzo Scalera. I have been following him for decades, so I am not surprised at his instrumental intelligence and extraordinary capability in following singers and collaborating with them. The audience was rather scarce, this is really a pity, for a performance to remember.

Review by Fabio Bardelli
translation from italian Bruno Tredicine