Music Reviews : Arax Davtian Makes Her Southland Debut Recital

Yes, Virginia, the search for the next great Verdi soprano goes on. Arax Davtian fell short of that widely advertised jewel-beyond-price status Tuesday night at her Los Angeles debut recital in Ambassador Auditorium, but the Soviet singer nonetheless offered plenty of interest to voice enthusiasts.

Davtian’s voice exhibits relentlessly bright tone that turns edgy under the slightest provocation, an exquisite pianissimo (in her case more reliable in midrange than above the staff), and a searing, tight top. She does not suffer from unsteadiness and zips through fast passages where others merely lumber.

Quaintly unidiomatic Italian and some odd ideas of phrasing and note values wrought curious musical surprises in arias from “Cosi fan Tutte,” “I Capuleti ed i Montechi,” “La Forza del Destino” and “Un Ballo in Maschera.” Moreover, each aria (except “Pace, pace” from “Forza”) featured a clever evasion of its most difficult vocal moment.

On home ground, Davtian purveyed soulful, compelling artistry in richly rewarding songs by contemporary Armenian composers Tigran Mansurian and Edvard Mirzoyan. She reached real heights of communicative power in Antonida’s romance from Glinka’s “A Life for the Tsar.”

Transcending considerations of vocal technique or shortcomings, she sang ravishingly, movingly, rendering the concluding, arching phrase in a breathtakingly luminous pianissimo that left the audience unwilling to intrude with applause. Haunting Armenian encores sustained the spell.

Diana Mkrtchian served as capable, occasionally bumbling pianist.