Creek Soprano In Delightful Recital

Northern Advocate, 26 June 1946, Page 4

Creek Soprano In Delightful Recital

Concluding a Dominion-length tour which has included all the cities and provincial towns of note, Angela Parselles presented a recital in the Whangarei Town Hall last night. The young Greek soprano gave a large audience—which augers well for future visits of international artists to New Zealand being spread to include Whangarei—a delightful experience. The principal fault with her programme, and that complimentary to the singer, was that it was too short, as the audience, despite five extra numbers and one repeat, was far from satiated and showed reluctance to allow' her to conclude.

Miss Parselles came to Whangarei with a reputation established overseas and sustained in this Dominion. Consequently much w'as expected of her and she was not a disappointment. A rich voice, vibrant and full, truthful in pitch and qualitative in tone, together with strong dramatic v sense and expressive interpretation, to say noth. ing of a charming personality, combined to make an appeal which found the greatest favour with the audience.

APPRECIATIVE AUDIENCE In her more softly sung numbers, she was at her best, although her fine range and spirited renditions of the more lusty works succeeded in covering minor imperfections. A tendency to lose tone in the low register and a noticeable tremolo on sustained high notes detracted to a small extent from her performance, but the variation w'as forgotten in the excellence of her general artistry. The programme itself could have been better chosen if it had been designed merely to cater for public taste for more familiar numbers. This was especially the case in the first half, which was devoted to the works of Italian composers and German lieder, but the audience could not cavil at the selections of the second half and the artist’s encore offerings. In these there was greater appeal, as shown by the tangible expression of the audience's feelings. In the Italian group the soprano found herself and her audience in her opening number, Montverdi’s “Lascatemi Morire,” and she w'ent on to please with “O Cessate;’ (Scarlatti), and “Verosette e Care Pupilette” (Falconieri). Pergolesi’s “Tre Giorni” and Durante’s spirited “Danza” were the best of this section. OPERATIC GEMS

A lieder group including “My Heart Is In Bloom,” and “Maynight,” by 3rahms, and "All Souls’ Day” and "Lover's Pledge,” by Richard Strauss, as well as Brahms’ “Lullaby,” superbly sung as a recall, whetted the appetite for the second half, which opened with a particularly fine interpretation of "Deh Viene,” from Mozart’s “Marriage of Figaro.” The latent dramatic qualities Miss Parselles had indicated became fully revealed in her next number, “Pace Pace,” from Verdi’s "The Force of Destiny.” This excerpt, in which Leonora cries to heaven to meet death, was brilliantly sung, probably the artist's best performance of the programme, and she was recalled, singing ... selection from Puccini.

In her final bracket she sang Quilfer’s "Fair House of Joy,” Hagqman’s sentimental delicacy "Cunnin’ Little Thing,” a Greek song which she was obliged to repeat, and Bridge’s fiery “Love Went A-Riding,” in which she used her voice to its full dramatic effect.

Far from satisfied to allow this singer, so small physically but so large in voice and artistry, to depart, the audience was insistent and Miss Parselles obliged with "The Last Rose of Summer,” “Annie Laurie” and “The Lord's Prayer,” the last so beautifully sung that it was a fitting conclusion to a fine recital. ASSOCIATE ARTIST .

As the accompaniste, Miss Lettie Keyes, a prominent Australian pianist, showed good understanding, except for a tendency to over-emphasise her role in the singer’s more dramatic and forceful numbers. In the more lightlysung passages she gave excellent assistance.

For her first solo, Miss Keyes chose Debussy’s “Clair de Lune,” and gave it a sympathetic treatment, rather marred by a too-slow tempo. In contrast was her playing of the same composer's “Arabesque" in G major. In her Chopin group, she played the "Nocturne - ’ in F sharp major with accuracy and facility, only to display finer technique in a well-executed “Waltz” in C sharp minor. This performance earned her merited recall to play another of the same composer’s waltzes, that in E minor which she also gave dexterous treatment.—Ray Monks.