EXULTANT bravos and thunderous applause rained down on divine tenor Keith Ikaia-Purdy after each aria he sang in yesterday's Honolulu Symphony Orchestra concert. His lustrous, powerful voice warmed every soul.His singing cast a magic spell. Listeners rummaged for superlatives to describeit, while their sparkling eyes, smiles and rousing ovations more eloquently told the story.
If you want to hear one of the finest voices Hawaii has ever produced, go to this concert. If you want to hear one of international opera's brightest young stars, run to the box office.
It doesn't matter whether you're a snobby connoisseur who only attends opera at the Metropolitan, Covent Garden and La Scala, or someone who likes to get loosened up for karaoke. Either way, Ikaia-Purdy's voice will thrill you.
Guest conductor Eve Queler adroitly led the program of opera selections from Giuseppe Verdi and Giacomo Puccini and Felix Mendelssohn's "Italian Symphony." She had a sensitive rapport with Ikaia-Purdy, whom she has worked with in Europe. Her baton never erred in evoking the proper balance between soloist andorchestra.
Queler also connected well with the HSO musicians. Taking crisply vigorous tempi, she both challenged and nurtured them to perform at their highest levels.
The all-Verdi first half featured three arias and two overtures. Apparent from the opening selection, from "Il Corsaro," was the rootedness of Ikaia-Purdy's singing. His voice resonated as if he drew power up from the floor, through his body, and only then out of his throat.
The opera dictum, "act with your voice and sing with your body," permeated Ikaia-Purdy's approach. In an aria from "La Forza del Destino," he was able to convey the story's tragedy without sets or supertitles.
A number from "Luisa Miller" showed confident technique and burnished timbre. Perhaps some of his voice's toasty warmth comes from his origins as a baritone. Nothing about his tone sounded thin or forced, as can happen with tenors.
The orchestra played the overture to "La Battaglia di Legnano" with charm. Queler highlighted the martial brass, spirited woodwinds and plucky pizzicato from the strings. The overture from "La Forza" had a mysterious quality that conveyed foreboding despite its lyricism.
The Puccini arias of the concert's second half reinforced how well Ikaia-Purdy tells a story with his voice. Refined diction and articulation made every word of Italian intelligible. But you didn't have to know the language to understand the tender "Che gelida manina" from "La Boheme," where the hero shares his dreams with the heroine.
Mendelssohn's "Italian Symphony" was nestled between the Puccini songs. As lively and pretty as a symphony gets, it provided a sun drenched sojourn to Italy and complemented the opera program perfectly.
After an endearingly flighty number from "Gianni Schicchi," Ikaia-Purdy launched into three famous arias by which fans the world over judge tenors. He executed each of them with grandeur, but without the gaudy excess they sometimes receive.
In the finale, Ikaia-Purdy rendered Puccini's showstopping "Nessun dorma" with both reverie and reverence.
Two encores were hardly enough. But if you could only bring two songs to a desert island, "La donna e mobile" from Verdi's "Rigoletto" and the timeless "O Sole Mio" would go far towards keeping up spirits. Ikaia-Purdy sang each at a nimble tempo and with a sprightly touch.
Adding to the concert's wonder was the joy of seeing a homegrown talent, who has made it big abroad, come home to share his gifts.
What: Tenor Keith Ikaia-Purdy, guest conductor Eve Queler and the Honolulu Symphony perform operatic works