Washington Classical Review

Tenor Matthew Polenzani performed a recital for Vocal Arts DC Monday night. Photo: Courtney Ruckman

Vocal Arts DC brought Matthew Polenzani back to Washington Monday evening, for the first time in person since his 2015 debut. (His virtual recital in 2020, also anchored on Schubert, does not really count.)

The American tenor’s program, presented with pianist Ken Noda at La Maison Française, united opposites: a first half of Schubert’s Schwanengesang preceded a much lighter set of Italian arias and folksongs.

Schwanengesang is not really a cycle, but two short collections of songs pasted together by a publisher. Polenzani’s lyric tenor sounded best in songs with a broad dynamic range like “Kriegers Ahnung,” where Noda’s dramatic touch at the keyboard supported multiple emotional shifts. At softer dynamics, as in “Frühlingssehnsucht,” a heavy vibrato occasionally obscured the center of the pitch. Noda had some trouble with more demanding accompaniments, too, like the churning arpeggiated chords of “Liebesbotschaft.”

After getting warmed up, Polenzani’s voice settled into the pleading lines of “Ständchen” and the more insistent urgency of “Aufenthalt.” The duo’s dramatic impulses worked most to their advantage in the somber “In der Ferne,” where both pianist and singer created a palpable sense of desperation in the music. “Abschied” posed further difficulties for Noda, who adjusted the tempo in solo passages to manage the demands.

The best parts of this performance came in the songs set to the darker poetry of Heinrich Heine, beginning with the forceful complaints of “Der Atlas” and the stark bleakness of “Ihr Bild.” The more tender melody of “Das Fischermädchen,” a dulcet miniature, proved a notable exception amid Heine’s more acerbic poetry.

The three final Heine songs depicted haunted landscapes memorably. The disturbing “Die Stadt” bristled with unresolved harmonies. “Am Meer” brooded tenderly, and most powerfully, the terrifying “Der Doppelgänger” became a ballad of paranoid disassociation. The addition of “Die Taubenpost,” believed to be the composer’s final song composed before his untimely death, sounded truly incongruous with what had come before it.

Although the Italian pieces paled in comparison musically when set against late Schubert, their vocal style showed off the more handsome side of Polenzani’s voice. Reynaldo Hahn’s two fine imitations of gondola songs, “Sopra l’acqua indormenzada” and “La barcheta,” highlighted the tenor’s sensitive legato and potent top. (A missing score required Noda to dash off stage to retrieve the needed pages, which allowed Polenzani to engage in some light banter between these two songs.)

The most heroic interpretation came in the aria “L’anima ho stanca” from Cilea’s Adriana Lecouvreur, which set the stage for the bracing harmony of Ildebrando Pizzetti’s “I pastori.” Between Noda’s vivid accompaniment and Polenzani’s pointed melody, this intense scene of shepherds driving their flocks toward the sea came to life. Songs by Leoncavallo and Donizetti, as usual, fell short of their operatic counterparts in melodic invention.

A final set of four songs by Paolo Tosti pushed the tolerable limits of sentimentality, even when presented in the best possible light by Polenzani. The end of “Serenata” sounded most effective, with a foray into the tenor’s limpid head voice, light and floating. “Marechiare,” in the mode of a Neapolitan folk song, combined a charming freeness of tempo, further enlivened by a spirited accelerando here and there.

The folk song vein continued with a single encore of “Danny Boy.” This brought the most affecting use of the singer’s angelic head voice: Polenzani’s vocal caress of the sighing high notes of this beloved tune tied the evening up with a bow.

Soprano Amanda Batista and pianist Myra Huang perform Spanish-language songs by Montsalvatge, Lecuona, Caballero, Parsi, and Buchardo 5 p.m. February 14, 2027. vocalartsdc.org