Malvina Major

Press, 20 July 1988, Page 8

Malvina Major

Malvina Major (soprano) and Maurice Till (piano), presented by the New Zealand Opera Society at the State Trinity Centre, July 19, 8 p.m. Reviewed by Philip Norman. I have been an ardent admirer of Malvina Major’s work for some time now. Her warm, generous stage presence and fresh, vital soprano tones have never failed to charm, be they brought to bear in opera, oratorio or straight concert performances. This admiration perhaps goes some way towards explaining the degree of disappointment I felt on attending her recital at the State Trinity Centre last evening. In terms of polish, her delivery fell short of expectations. The nightingale tone I vividly recall from past appearances shrieked on occasions at top notes and centred pitches perceptibly sharp at dynamics above a mezzo-forte. My disillusionment did not stop at matters musical. Most of the arias presented were selected from operatic roles Major has taken throughout her career. Each of these arias was prefaced by a brief, often anecdotal, introduction. While this certainly added an extra dimension of interest to the proceedings, I grew increasingly uncomfortable with

what appeared to be an undertone of immodesty in her narrative. For a singer to state baldly that she received rave reviews for a particular role or to crack jokes at the expense of someone else’s lesser musical talents crosses the fine boundary, in my mind, between confidence and arrogance. As if this was not enough, I got the same claustrophobic feeling from attending this recital, presented by the New Zealand Opera Society, as I do in attending, say, a heavy session of mainstream jazz. One feels as if one has intruded on the mysterious rites of a secret society. There are no printed programmes to help translate the jargon employed. One is left feverishly attempting to decode such cryptic comments as “here’s one you’ll all know by Bird out of Duke” or “I play Mimi but I like to sing Musetta — here is her love aria.” Small wonder laypeople usually stay away in droves from such events.

In sum, the State Trinity Centre recital certainly offered some good-quality singing, if patchy in places, and some lively piano accompaniments by Maurice Till. But these positive aspects did not counter the disillusionment I felt on leaving the venue.