The charmingly mannered Jeanne LaForgia '92, accompanied on the piano by her former voice teacher, Louis Burkot, gave an enthusiastic performance of selections from her master's thesis yesterday afternoon in Faulkner Recital Hall. LaForgia commanded the audience with a full repertoire, ranging in style from opera to cabaret.
The first half of her program, filled with works of French and Spanish classical composers, included selections from Henri Duparc, one of the "big three" French opera composers of the late 19th/early 20th centuries, and the modernized versions of Spanish traditional folk songs by Fernando Obradors.
The first act culminated in a stirring rendition of Puccini's Omiobabbino caro. LaForgia, full-voiced, told the story of a young woman threatening to throw herself off a bridge in the name of love unrequited. Her voice, rich in texture and the subtleties of the score well captured, LaForgia's animated expressions and strong resolve heightened the manner in which she brought the audience in to her experience of the song.
The songs of the second act were more playful in nature, starting with the compositions of Kurt Weill. She contrasted his work, pre and post-immigration to the United States. The former, longing for utopia and the latter, in Broadway style.
LaForgia seductively flirted with her audience as she concluded her performance with a cabaret song of Benjamin Britten and a medley of Rogers and Hart's songs of romance, replete with irony.
LaForgia stayed afterwards to talk with undergraduate students, during which time, she made it known that out of all her repertoire, Kurt Weill was "her real love." She worked at Tanglewood the summer after graduating under the tutelage of Maurice Abravanel, Weill's confidante.
Although she hesitates to classify herself in a specific discipline of singing, she prefers cabaret-type pieces. "A cabaret is more about the vocals, the music, and the plotline of the song, as opposed to being about the sets and lights in full scale productions," she said. "A cabaret can rely more on the feeling the vocalist can elicit out of the audience."
Her emphasis on the performer's ability to paint a picture, tell a story or evoke an emotion perhaps evolved out of having studied both Drama and English as an undergraduate at Dartmouth. "It is important to have something to bring to the art," she said.
LaForgia tries to keep all her interests going, but finds she is unable to in the manner in which she did at Dartmouth." I miss being able to all things in one building -- singing, acting, directing. It was easier at Dartmouth because everything was all in one place," she said.
LaForgia hopes to work in the theater when she completes her M.A. in music, either teaching or assistant directing.
