Lise Davidsen, soprano
Malcolm Martineau, piano

It takes a lot to stir up the New York City classical music world, where an endless stream of virtuosic artists passes through on a weekly basis, performing in some of the world’s most iconic halls. But Norwegian soprano Lise Davidsen pulled off the operatic equivalent of a mic drop last fall, when—following a string of acclaimed roles at the Met—she dazzled a sold-out house on that grand stage in her New York solo recital debut. Here, in a program of arias and songs by Grieg, Purcell, Verdi, R. Strauss, Schubert, and Wagner, Davidsen transfixes listeners with her voluminous tone and ravishing warmth of expression. As one New York Times reviewer breathlessly effused, “She possesses a fully resonant lower register that passes through a dark, capacious middle into a blazing, seraphic top…its legato is molten…Davidsen’s timbre is also lovely in its shapeliness, metal wrapped in layers of velvet.”  The gifted Malcolm Martineau—a longtime Cal Performances favorite—accompanies from the piano.