Eleazar Rodríguez's Senior Recital

* Notes *
Tenor Eleazar Rodríguez's senior recital at San Francisco Conservatory of Music was last night. Accompanied by pianist Alexander Katsman, Rodríguez sang songs from Charles Gounod, Ottorino Respighi, Joaquin Turina, and Robert Schumann. The Gounod sounded very pretty, sweet, and bright. His voice is flexible and does not sound constricted at the top. When he moved on to the Respighi he floated the last notes of "Nevicata," and showed off some beautiful low notes in "Nebbie." Of the Turina pieces, "Nunca Olvida" was particularly splendid.

After the intermission came Dichterliebe, which began with a fluid ease. There was a moment in "Die Rose, die Lilie, die Taube, die Sonne" where pianist and singer were not exactly together. A few of the low notes were lost in "Ich grolle nicht." On the other hand, "Aus alten Märchen winkt es" had a fine liveliness. Compared to Rodríguez's performance last October, he was more focused, and his communication of the emotional content here gained some clarity. The two encores were Tosti's "Chanson de l'adieu" and Donizetti's "Una furtiva lagrima." One hopes he will sing the role of Nemorino in Merola Opera Program's L'elisir d'amore this summer, and if so, this is certainly something to look forward to.

* Tattling *
The audience was filled with all the usual suspects: students, staff, members of the Opera Standees Association, volunteers for San Francisco Opera's coffee service, and Adler Fellows. As a result, everyone was rather quiet and attentive. Some of the singers in rehearsal for SF Opera's Die Walküre had to hurry over to make in time, but managed to do so before the music began.