You know exuberance is not a word we use lightly on PDTB.
The exuberance with which I beheld one Ms. Phyllis Pancella in recital one Tuesday evening just one month ago was overwhelming.
I truly wish you could have been there to see it with me.
So to say, it was OFF THE CHARTS!
It is not the first time that I encountered Ms. Pancella, as a singer or as a teacher, but her joy of learning and living is made abundantly clear through her performance.
I have been spoiled for any other recital in the future.
Even my own. TBD this coming Spring, people!
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It is like eating the most divine meal in Paris, embracing the culture in your most fashionable red shoes to match your scarlet scarf, living the European way for a weekend, and then going home to the local French restaurant and having to make do. It simply cannot!
As this exciting event made way, much unlike anything I have ever beheld, I wish to condone my review as similarly.
She premiered works, celebrated the anniversary of works she previously premiered, and above all, she played. It is something that Ms. Pancella and I have always found mutual understanding upon.
If one is not participating with splendor and whimsy, then what is the point of participating at all?
As a lifetime student of the world, and opera in particular, I hope that I may continue to employ these sentiments throughout the rest of my life.
One piece in particular was a definite highlight of the evening; Miss Manners on Music.
Ms. Manner’s was a pure riot. She politely shares advice to her invoice of advice letters on proper comportment in artistic settings like a choir concert or the opera.
She expertly articulates everything that those of us with high standards for audience behavior are thinking, and does so with grace and humility.
Ms. Manners wants everyone to happily experience the arts in their general lives, but only with the wit of a novice opera goer and appreciator.
She creates an environment conducive to learning while maintaining formality of the highest, most respectable degree. It is sublime! It is precisely what the prima donna to be aspires after for her audience!
May we all have the patience and grace to be kind to those ignorant while they are still learning… ahem, no, perhaps an alternate shoe option would better suit a night at the Met...
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I certainly appreciate outfit changes in recital, though I understand it is the singer’s choice. Ms. Pancella had not one, but five outfits changes for each of her characters that she portrayed. One piece in particular featured its own array of wardrobe subtractions.
This commitment to character and investing your artistic tone into what you perform is the true work of the prima donna.
I left feeling inspired, but also truly seen. When we can see ourselves in the people that we admire and aspire after, it makes our world smaller.
My future of gracing the opera stage is not as far off as I may believe.
Who knows, perhaps my directorial debut is following closely behind. 😉
It was a night of splendor and gratitude for life, song, and most importantly, embracing your authentic self through my favorite means… the voice!
XOXO,
Bentley
