International Wagner Competition: members of the Seattle Symphony
For once, that tired old phrase “a star is born” seemed appropriate. There is an elusive quality that sets a performer apart. It’s called “presence.” When James Rutherford strode onto the stage, perhaps half an hour into the finals of the Seattle Opera’s inaugural International Wagner Competition, I knew in my bones that this was going to be something in a different class from what we–an audience of more than 1,500–had heard up to then. Don’t ask me how I knew. I had never heard of this 34-year-old English baritone before, and I had nothing palpable to go on. But indeed, so it proved;. . .
But then, quite suddenly, with “Was duftet doch der Flieder” from Die Meistersinger,” James Rutherford confronted us with Hans Sachs in the very flesh. And the music, too, took on at a stroke a quite different aspect of flow and grace.
Something similar happened in the second half of the program, with his performance of the Dutchman’s “Die Frist ist um,” from Der fliegende Holländer. Mr. Rutherford is 34. His voice will undoubtedly develop further in richness of resource, but it is already a superb instrument, deep, warm, and clear, and he wields it with both dynamic sensitivity and firmness of line. More importantly, he was the only singer of the evening who really made me care about the character he was assuming. This was not mere impersonation but true human and dramatic self-identification. Most of the competitors gave us the experience of hearing a soprano singing this, or a tenor singing that. Rutherford was Hans Sachs, and he was the Dutchman, and we loved the one and grieved profoundly for the other...I am delighted to have been present at the unveiling, in James Rutherford, of one of the major Wagner singers of the coming decades. Splendid support from Asher Fisch and members of the Seattle Symphony, who opened each half with a suitably stirring prelude, completed a fascinating evening, and a good time was had by all. Even, whatever my feelings about Wagner, by me.
Bernard Jacobson Review |
