MUSIC REVIEWS : Santiago: Charming but Disappointing Too

Soprano Theresa Santiago, a native New Yorker who took first prize in the 1994 Naumburg International Vocal Competition and has since won a number of other awards, gave her Los Angeles debut recital at Ambassador Auditorium Monday night but failed to prove very interesting. It was an uncharacteristically disappointing entry in the Ambassador’s traditionally provocative Gold Medal series.

Her program of art songs--no aria was heard until the first encore, “O mio babbino caro”--promised much, but delivered only a little.

With a voice of small size but considerable prettiness, and largely undeveloped interpretive skills, Santiago opened with the four songs of Schoenberg’s Opus 2, followed them with five by Obradors, then sent her friendly audience out to intermission before 8:30. Her second half took longer: She presented the three most anthologized melodies of Duparc, three unfamiliar items by Charles Griffes and four songs by Rachmaninoff.

Throughout, she had solid and faceted support from Dorian Keilhack at the piano (his playing was actually more colorful than her singing).

The 25-year-old singer seems sincere, and never visually distracts from her own performance. She produces pleasant and easy sounds, but she delves little into the textual depths of the music, communicating rarely.