Bass Ramey Makes Powerful Return in L.A. Opera Recital

Bass Samuel Ramey hasn’t sung on the stage of the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion since 1982, when the annual visits of New York City Opera came to a halt.

It’s been too long.

Thursday, when Ramey returned to the Pavilion to sing a recital under the auspices of L.A. Opera, he was greeted by legions of fans from those days as well as from his later triumphs in Europe, New York and San Francisco, plus those gained from his recording career.

Nevertheless, the truth of the matter is that Ramey sang some things better than others. He sang arias better than art songs; dramatic art songs better than introspective or reflective ones.

Better, in this case, wasn’t a matter of vocal production.

Ramey, at 55, still has a big, focused and resonant voice through most of the range. (The extremes tend to get a little gray.) Some of the plush is off, but a lot isn’t. His diction was exemplary, as was his ability to connect with and entertain an audience.

Still, he came alive when he sang opera in a way that rarely happened in smaller-scale repertory. The texts took on urgency and meaning. He seemed released into his full power.

So Roger’s “Vous priez vainement” from Verdi’s “Jerusalem” emerged with energy, character and specificity, as did two Satanic encores. The same was true of some of Paul Bowles’ songs: “They Cannot Stop Death” and several of the “Blue Mountain Ballads.”

But an opening Handel group, drawn from “Samson,” “Semele” and “Judas Maccadeus,” sounded generic, though strong in agility and accuracy.

The voice of Ravel’s “Don Quichotte a Dulcinee” was withdrawn and muted, although the pianissimo amen at the end of “Chanson epique” was quite beautiful. Muted, that is, until the final extroverted drinking song, where Ramey made the Don’s intoxication a bit more physical than metaphysical.

Ramey sang four Cole Porter songs more in art song than pop song style--long, even, mellifluous lines, rather than stressed words and shaped phrases. It’s an approach that has its appeal but doesn’t greatly exploit Porter’s famous wordplay.

A trio of Stephen Foster songs encapsulated the range: engagement in character pieces (“Don’t Bet Your Money on the Shanghai” and “If You’ve Only Got a Moustache”); less affect in something more quietly personal (“Gentle Annie”).

Throughout the recital pianist Warren Jones proved a sensitive partner. He introduced to the audience the Bowles pieces.

Responding to great applause, Ramey sang three encores: “Ecco il mondo” from Boito’s “Mefistofele,” Mephistophele’s Serenade from Gounod’s “Faust” and “Ol’ Man River.”