At 60, Kiri Te Kanawa continues to blossom

Soprano Kiri Te Kanawa has built her reputation on her gorgeous voice and equally handsome face and figure. At an impressively well-attended recital Sunday at the Orange County Performing Arts Center, she proved that six months after her 60th birthday, she retains much of that glamour.

Dressed in a black, heavily sequined off-the-shoulder sheath, Te Kanawa performed works by Handel, Strauss and Puccini -- composers she’s long been associated with -- and songs by Debussy, Hahn, Faure, Berlioz and Poulenc, French composers who have figured relatively little in her career.

French repertory may not show her at her best these days. In these works, her voice sounded thinner and stripped of sheen, especially in the middle to low range. But German and Italian repertory encouraged moments when her voice could still blossom on top, where the sound expanded in seemingly endless, resonant space and reveled in rich overtones.

At such moments, in Strauss’ “Morgen” (Tomorrow) or Wolf-Ferrari’s “Rispetto I and III” (Respect I and III), for instance, but certainly elsewhere, the years melted away, as only an artist who is a master of vocal technique can guarantee.

Te Kanawa has never been known for her probing of texts, and in this recital she was true to form. But she did reveal a rarely seen comic side when she grimaced in mock anguish during Poulenc’s “Hotel,” changing the original longing for a cigarette into a desperate need for some chocolate. Maybe this was a hint at the price she has to pay for that enviable figure.

She also sang Puccini’s little-known song “Sole e amore,” which the composer later adapted for Mimi’s and Rodolfo’s instantly recognizable farewell in “La Boheme.” Accompanist Warren Jones joined her in the closing measures.

From the beginning, Te Kanawa included Jones when accepting applause. This was not only a gracious gesture on her part but also an acknowledgment of his enormous contribution to the success of the recital. That support was obvious in the lightness and probing depth of his introductions to Strauss’ “Standchen” (Serenade) and “Morgen” but equally important in his thoughtful mirroring of Te Kanawa’s dynamics and phrasing throughout the recital.

She sang two encores: a traditional Maori folk song, “Hine e Hine,” and “O mio babbino caro” from Puccini’s “Gianni Schicchi.”