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What's New
with Dominique Labelle
June 21, 2010
“Labelle in Liederabend mode”
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Roger Hamilton, harpsichord and piano
International Handel-Festival Göttingen
Music of Handel, Purcell, Stradella, Fauré, Hahn,
Britten, Piaf
"A rias,
Songs and Chansons saw Labelle in Liederabend mode at a nearby
castle. A familiar opener, "I know that my Redeemer liveth", sung
with sweetness as well as gravitas, was followed by a varied bracket
of Purcell songs showing Labelle’s vocal flexibility, dramatic
instincts and judicious use of vibrato as a decorative device, not
to mention excellent diction. Stradella’s cantata Da Filinda aver
chi puo displayed different moods within itself, and the Baroque
quotient was filled out by Elisa’s third act aria "Ti pentira,
crudel" from Handel’s Tolomeo. This was highly dramatised and
amusing.
After the interval, just when you thought Labelle
was the last word in baroque repertoire, she donned another hat
entirely for chansons by Fauré and Hahn, accompanied now by grand
piano. Nestling into the embrace of that instrument, Labelle
emanated palpable joy in the coming of spring in Faurés "L’hiver a
cessé", with a gracious wave at the end to forestall applause
between songs. Her immersion and comfort in the French texts was
complete, with her voice as smooth as silk. Hahn’s "L’heure exquise"
was a stunning evocation of mood, followed by something completely
different, a bracket of Britten’s Cabaret Songs. Leading off with
"Calypso", the driving rhythm and mounting excitement was enhanced
by a whistle, followed by "Johnny", an elegant account of "Tell me
the truth about love" and a tender rendition of "Funeral Blues". For
an encore to this glorious recital, we were regaled with a (slightly
ironic) "La vie en rose" (Piaf/Gugliemi)."
-- Sandra Bowdler,
Opera Britannia
April 15, 2010
“Diamond-Bright”
Dominique Labelle, soprano
HANDEL Orlando
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
“Dominique Labelle was the standout...[she]
combined diamond-bright vocal technique with assured stage presence.
Labelle is a frequent Philharmonia collaborator, and her artistry
seems more refined and expressive with each appearance here.”
--San Jose Mercury News
Photo credit: Lino Alvarez
“Labelle...added yet another page to her roster
of successes as Angelica, the Queen of Cathay. Her singing was
bright, strong and ripely expressive, and she tackled both the
role’s lyrical stretches and its athletic writing with equal
aplomb.”
--San Francisco Chronicle
February
11, 2010
“LUSTROUS SOPRANO”
Dominique Labelle, soprano (“Armide”)
GLUCK Armide
Opera Lafayette
Ryan Brown, conductor
“That Gluck’s magnificent 1777 ‘Armide’, a seemingly
flawless masterpiece, continues to be a rarity is inexplicable. In
decades of operagoing I had encountered ‘Armide’ only once before
the concert performance in Rose Hall of Lincoln Center [by] Opera
Lafayette, an adventurous period company from Washington DC
celebrating its 15th season.
Like all 18th-century French operas ‘Armide’ abounds with dance. And
this performance, conducted by Ryan Brown, Opera Lafayette’s
founding director, featured elaborated ballet segments. Mr. Brown
conducted a stylish and flowing performance, with an admirable cast
headed by the lustrous soprano Dominique Labelle in the title role.
The opera has had powerful past champions. Wagner conducted it in
Dresden in 1843. Toscanini opened the Metropolitan Opera’s 1910-11
season with the American premiere performance; the starry cast
included Olive Fremstad, in the title role, Enrico Caruso and Louise
Homer. It was last heard at the Met in 1912.
Armide is an alluring Muslim sorceress and the princess of Damascus
at the time of the First Crusade. Gluck’s music ebbs and flows with
uncanny naturalness. Orchestra-accompanied recitative merges into
lyrical arioso and opens up into arias and ensembles that never come
across as set pieces. One ingeniously subtle scene comes in Act III,
when Armide sings of her lover, then talks things over with her
confidantes. Singing with tender longing one moment and steely
determination the next, Ms. Labelle conveyed Armide’s aching
conflicts. This scene seemed strikingly contemporary: just three
women talking over the agonies of love.
Rose Hall was filled for this performance. The time has come for
Gluck’s ‘Armide’.”
--Anthony Tommasini,
New York Times
“SEDUCED FOR LIFE”
October 7, 2009
Dominique Labelle, soprano
BRITTEN Les Illuminations
New England String Ensemble
Susan Davenny Wyner, conductor
Montreal Symphony Orchestra
Richard Hoenich, conductor
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“If people could
hear performances like the heated, voluptuous one that Labelle
and Wyner concocted, they would be seduced for life....Labelle
may be the ideal female interpreter…she sings the texts with a
wonderful idiomatic flavor…her voice not only can spin out the
upper galactic high notes, but she brings a wonderful palette of
vocal hues to tint the images.” |
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Ellen Pfeifer
The Boston Globe |
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“Dominique Labelle’s warm and clear voice is capable of rich and
varied timbres. Her singing seemed at all times effortless, her
interpretation of the contrasting poetic sentiments displayed
many shades and contained drama as well as intimacy.” |
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Ilse Zadrozny
The Montreal Gazette |
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HEAR Dominique in Handel’s Solomon:
Available at
www.amazon.com
“ASTONISHING”... “UNFORGETTABLE”... “OVERPOWERING” ...
“MESMERIZING”
August 18, 2009
Soprano
DOMINIQUE LABELLE
Sings...
...BRITTEN
“Unforgettable, perfectly rendered” Boston Herald
“Effortless” Montreal Gazette
...HARBISON
“Positively rapturous” Boston Globe
...MAHLER
“Class and expression....Irreproachable accuracy, grace and ease.”
Le Soleil
...RAVEL
“Especially sensuous” New Jersey Star-Ledger
...SHOSTAKOVICH
“Labelle stands out...with the utmost conviction....Always musical.”
La Presse
...VERDI
“Astonishing distinction...the sound of a great Verdi soprano” La
Presse
...VILLA-LOBOS
“The great Dominique Labelle....Overpowering sexiness” Berkshire
Review
...WYNER
“Mesmerizing beauty of tone, mastery of line and intensity of
focus....Deliciously evocative” ClassicsToday.com
HEAR -
Dominique Labelle sings Shostakovich
BUY -
Dominique Labelle sings John Harbison
“Roses Bursting Into Bloom”
May 6, 2009
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Washington Bach Consort
J. Reilly Lewis, conductor
“IMPASSIONED...INCREDIBLE...ASTOUNDING”
“Also starring in Handel’s Gloria, soprano
Dominique Labelle has an astounding voice, one of impassioned
resonance and incredible skill. Her trills unfold miraculously out
of sustained tones like roses bursting into bloom.”
--Cecelia Porter, The Washington Post
Click here to read full review
HANDEL Ode for St. Cecilia’s Day
HANDEL Gloria
HEAR Dominique in Handel’s Solomon:
Available at
www.amazon.com
Handel Athalia
April 20, 2009
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Handel Athalia
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
“Dominique Labelle is wickedly good in Athalia”
“Labelle has been Philharmonia’s soprano of choice in these
leading Handelian roles for many seasons now, but Saturday’s
performance revealed a new measure of intensity and flexibility in
her approach....Labelle tore through [‘My vengeance awakes me’] with
almost alarming ferocity; in the defiant ‘To darkness eternal,’ she
faced her end through torrents of impeccable coloratura....a
performance of thrilling virtuosity and dramatic power.”
“...a fiery and sometimes brilliant performance of this early
work....Music director Nicholas McGegan led a vivid,
emotionally cogent performance, pacing the music smartly but
patiently and drawing unusually fine playing from the orchestra.”
--Joshua Kosman San Francisco Chronicle
Click here to read full review
HEAR
Nic & Dominique in Handel’s Solomon:
Available at
www.amazon.com
HANDEL L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il
Moderato
April 7, 2009
Dominique Labelle, soprano
Arion Ensemble
HANDEL L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato
“A superb cantata”
“Of the four soloists, Dominique Labelle is the one with the most
wonderful moments of the evening. The soprano possesses a great
instrument, in which the natural color and suppleness can be
compared to a nightingale....it is her generosity, roundness and
warmth that touches you. Each word that comes out of her mouth has
its own importance. We call this musicality.”
--Richard Boisvert, Le Soleil
“Dominique Labelle sings with the technical and expressive
prowess of a first rate artist. Her duet with the flute was
ravishing.”
--Claude Gingras, La Presse
HEAR
Dominique in Handel’s Solomon:
Available at
www.amazon.com
HEAR
Dominique sing
Shostakovich and Mozart
Read more about
Dominique Labelle
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