Stellar review for performances at Houston Symphony
December 26, 2019
Last week's performances in Houston were rewarded with this lovely review by Steven Brown in the Texas Classical Review -
Mezzo-soprano Diana Moore stood out for her sheer warmth–something that countertenors, for all their positives, can rarely match when they take charge of the same arias. She spun out Handel’s melodies with an eloquence and finesse that gained even more power from her clear diction. Friday’s most arresting moments may have come in 'He was despised', when Moore intoned two simple, unaccompanied phrases–a return to the aria’s opening words–with a simplicity and stillness that made it seem as if she were singing to each member of the audience individually. But Moore also gave the music impact when that was called for. Her voice welled up dynamically in 'For He is like a refiner’s fire', the explosion in the middle of 'But who may abide', and she sang with a bite that captured the brutal picture of 'He gave His back to the smiters.'
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