Sunday afternoon we had the privilege of attending The Crawford Studios Annual Recital. Vocal students of Karen Hendricks Crawford, and accompanied by Ann Nagell (piano), and Tony Masiello (clarinet), performed works by Schubert, Mozart, Handel, Verdi, Puccini & more. This was Laurent’s second recital performance – her first was shortly after she began studying with Karen, about a year and a half ago. I have to say that I was both eager and curious to hear her — you might think that, living in the same household, we would hear her singing all the time. And in general you would be correct (for truly, she is always singing – either singing or whistling!) — however, she has been remarkably adept at finding sneaky places and times to practice so that we really had no idea what she’s been up to or even what pieces she was going to sing.
Laurent had two numbers on the program. The first was “Poor Wandering One” (which she classified as “the easy one”) — from the comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance. I snapped one picture just as she began, and then stupidly sat there with my mouth hanging open in shock, having no idea she could do what she was doing, and failed utterly in my motherly duty to videotape the performance. I will be kicking myself for that failure for a very long time. What a delight it was to watch and listen, to observe not only the progress in this past year, but the sheer joy in music-making. I could see and hear it – the faster and higher she sang, the happier she got. Clearly she is a true coloratura! 🙂
For your entertainment, since I can’t provide my own recording, here’s a great performance by Helen Donaldson.
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Here are Kathleen Battle, soprano, James Levine, piano, and Karl Leister, clarinet, in a recording from 1988.
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Next year, I promise, I will not fail in my motherly duty.
paulyho39
21 Jan 2014What a wonderful afternoon it was! Marvelous music by all the performers, and, of course for us Laurent was right at the top! Her singing of those very high notes took my breath away, and it was such fun to see her face light up with the high notes and runs! It made this “Oma” cry!
Stacey
21 Jan 2014Do not worry about not videotaping…. you are not a failure… it actually speaks to the strength of Laurent’s performance and talent…. She moved you,,,,,it was special and meaningful. You were in the moment….. not behind the video camera. You were exactly where you needed to be!
Congrats to Laurent.
Annette Heidmann
21 Jan 2014Thank you Stacey!! 🙂 It was a priceless gift to be in the moment.