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Amazing Grace, Amazing Garcés Bogotá
Teatro Colón
04/17/2025 -
Modesta Bor: From Tríptica sobre poesía cubana: 2.‘Canción de cuna’ & 1.‘Guitarra’
Girando Giraldi: Canción de cuna india – Danza irregular – Lied de los ojos amados
Eliana Echeverry: From Diez lunas para una espera (Arrullos del Pacífico Colombiano): ‘Imaginarte’, ‘Una canción para vos’ & ‘Noches en vela’
Ernesto Lecuona: La senora Luna – Canción del amor triste – Siboney
Hall Johnson: Love is the only force – Honor, Honor
Undine Moore: Watch and Pray – Love let the Wind Cry – How I adore Thee
Adolphus Hailstork: From Four Love Songs: 1.‘My Heart, to Thy Heart’
Carolina Calvache: Four Generations
William Bolcom: Cabaret Songs: ‘Waitin’’, ‘Tooth Brushing Time’ & ‘Amor’
Betty Garcés (soprano), César Canón (piano)
B. Garcés
When Teatro Colón is mentioned, one invariably thinks of Buenos Aires’s venerable opera house inaugurated in 1908 with a performance of Aida. Renowned for its superlative acoustics, Argentina’s 2,487‑seat theatre is noted for the great stars (Caruso, Chaliapin, Callas, Tebaldi, Nilsson, Pavarotti) who sang there. However, there’s a less known, but equally beautiful Teatro Colón in Colombia’s capital, a smaller 785‑seat opera house, inaugurated in 1892. This beautiful venue, reminiscent of Italy’s nineteenth century opera houses, was the perfect setting for one of the most exciting vocal recitals I’ve attended in years.
I’d heard Betty Garcés a day earlier, in the Gala lírica that opened Bogotá’s classical music festival, Bogotá es América, but here she was even more seductive, no doubt thanks to this intimate setting. With piano accompaniment rather than orchestral, one better appreciated the Colombian soprano’s ability to communicate. Garcés’ voice is miraculous; she enjoys an extremely rich and distinct timbre, with natural trills, a seemingly limitless range, completely at ease in the upper register, and all the while maintains a sturdy lower core that descends deeply to a rich, enveloping contralto. She’s a committed artist who utterly inhabits her roles, and she conveys emotion with focused intensity.
The recital was tantalizing, with songs in Spanish by Latin American composers in the first part, and a selection of songs performed in English by composers mostly from the United States in the second. With the exception of those by Cuban composer Ernesto Lecuona (1895‑1963) and William Bolcom (b.1938), most composers were unfamiliar to me.
Venezuelan composer, pedagogue and choral director Modesta Bor (1900‑1978) integrated elements of Venezuelan folklore in her songs. The “Canción de cuna” is a lullaby where Garcés conveyed motherly tenderness. The songs of Argentina’s Gilardo Giraldi (1889‑1963) displayed a blend of European and Argentinian influences. His Lied de los ojos amados, a melancholy and moving song, was sung with great warmth by Gracés. Her emphasis on words such as “adorar hasta morir” and “a mi alma doliente” was truly riveting. Songs by contemporary Colombian composer Eliana Echeverry (b.1990) were inspired by the folklore of the Colombian Pacific coast. They strongly evoked motherhood, and Garcés managed to instill in them an appropriate tenderness. Cuba’s Ernesto Lecuona (1895‑1963) was the best known composer featured here. His Canción del amor triste was the most glorious piece of the recital’s first half. Garcés breathed passion into this melancholy and sentimental song. Pianist Cesár Canón, an attentive and supportive accompanist, exhibited his pianistic virtuosity in the instrumental prelude to Lecuona’s famous song Siboney.
Some of the Latin Songs, especially those composed in the early twentieth century, revealed a French influence, reminiscent of Fauré and Satie. The more recent ones, especially those by Lecuona, revealed a passionate sentimentality. In both, Garcés was completely engaged, unfailingly expressive and utterly affecting. In a Gluckian ideal, she masterfully fused lyrics and music.
The concert’s second half consisted mostly of songs by North American Afro‑American composers, including two women, and were inspired by Spirituals and the church. This was notably the case in the songs of Hall Johnson (1888‑1970) and Adolphus Hallstork (b.1941). Others centered around motherhood. Like Garcés, contemporary Colombian composer and jazz pianist Carolina Calvache (b.1985) hails from Colombia’s Pacific coast. Her song, Four Generations, is about motherhood, involving four generations. Garcés instilled the perfect amount of pathos in this moving song, written in a jazz‑inspired style. Another woman composer, Undine Moore (1904‑1989), was a revelation. Often described as “The Dean of Black Women Composers”, Moore’s musical style is inspired by Spirituals. Her song, Love let the Wind Cry... How I adore Thee, is a striking lovesong, set to a translation of a poem by the Greek poet Sappho. Garcés conveyed its passion and yearning in a song that deserves to be better known.
Garcés ended with some levity, through the cabaret songs of William Bolcom (b.1938). The upbeat song, “Amor,” is a humorous account of a pretty woman creating havoc in a town, causing mayhem and being brought to court. But in the end, even the judge relents and shouts “Amor”. Likewise, the priest ends up shouting “Amor” rather than “Amen”. Garcés was charm personified in this amusing song. Unsurprisingly, an encore was demanded by the cheering audience, and Amazing Grace was the delightful result, interpreted with deep emotion and sincerity, more in the style of Mahalia Jackson than that of an opera diva. It was an utterly appropriate finale, completing a glorious evening of song.
Few singers are as versatile as Garcés, able to navigate through different genres with ease, from opera, art songs, blues, jazz and even cabaret. One hopes to hear more of this impressive artist on international stages, not only in the traditional classical repertoire, but in other genres, where she excels with equal brio.
Ossama el Naggar
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