The recital was an adventurous mix: Honegger alongside Mozart, Alban Berg alongside Kurt Weill. Composers were also - rightly - in the spotlight: Clara Schumann, Henriëtte Bosmans, Rebecca Clarke and Haley Turner. And from the first note of Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder until the final chord of the title song I'm a stranger here myself the duo had us under their spell.
Claudia Patacca is truly a stage animal. It is not only a joy to listen to her, but also to watch her tell her story and bring the characters from the songs to life. She interprets with equal ease and conviction the tormented woman in Mozart's When Louise burnt the Briefe ihres ungetreuen Liebhabers as the Lorelei who, with her seductive singing, so distracts the sailors that their ships crash on the cliffs. She ís the timid wench in Der Zauberer and the love-starved statue from Kurt Weill's One Touch of Venus. Add to that the wonderful accompaniment by Wouter Munsterman to it, who can create an underwater world in his piano playing, make nightingales sing, even tigers growl, and you have the ingredients for a breathtakingly beautiful concert. Highly recommended, if you see this concert in your diary again!
Liesbeth Reijerkerk
contact The Hague
