Mark Padmore, Simon Lepper review: A consummate artist scales the heights at Wigmore Hall
In a recent interview, British tenor Mark Padmore said that, for him as a singer, “Meaning has the upper hand over pure virtuosity. The word is more interesting than the note.” That doesn’t mean he doesn’t pay scrupulous attention to “the note” but he puts a premium on commitment and communication.
He opened last night with a pair of Haydn songs, composed to English text, which always finds him at his most expressive. Perhaps he tried a little too hard: when Haydn expanded “smiling” to “smi-i-i-ling”, a slight aspirate appeared, but here as throughout, his vocal colourings — particularly warm in his almost baritonal lower register — broadened the emotional range. Throughout, pianist Simon Lepper provided solidly understated support.
A little more English would have been welcome but the rest of the recital was in German. In songs by Mozart, his whole body irradiated an almost operatic intensity, simultaneously physical, intellectual and passionate, while a sequence of Goethe settings by Beethoven had an infectious sense of fun, which, as Padmore pointed out, you don’t always associate with the composer.
He devoted the second half to Robert Schumann’s Kerner Lieder, 30 minutes of swirling passions that found him imploring one moment, vehement the next, then frisky or mournful. Again, there were occasional signs of vocal wear and tear but the overriding sense was of consummate artistry triumphing over moments of fleeting frailty.
