Tokyo Performances

Erika Colon

In marked contrast to my experience at NHK Hall two nights ago, I attended today a recital which was all that it should have been. A ravishing young soprano, Erika Colon, sang a variety of pieces in a beautiful, clear, bright voice.

She opened with a sensational “Oh Had I Jubal’s Lyre” and continued unabated through works in French, Latin, German, Italian, and Japanese. Highlights included Dowland’s “Come Again” and “Sakurayokocho” by Yoshinayo Nakata. But each of the pieces, from Gounod’s “Ave Maria” through Mozart’s “Ave Verum” to Satie’s “La Diva de l’Empire” displayed excellent intonation and a variety of expressive techniques. I am more interested in newer music, and I thoroughly enjoyed three short pieces of Marie Scibor with lyrics by Paul Claudel. Likewise I was moved by an “Ave Maria” composed by the artist’s father Eric Colon in honor of the Burned Virgin of Nagasaki.

Miss Colon was admirably accompanied by Kanako Tsutsumi, and the venue was perfect – a recital hall on the Sacred Heart University campus with three huge windows behind the artists looking out on to a garden with a blooming cherry tree on a pleasant Spring Sunday afternoon.

Miss Colon will be going to London to study at the Royal Academy, and I look forward to following her career, especially as she matures into more edgy repertoire. She seems to have a particular affinity for French music which I hope she pursues.

posted by Larry Wells @ 5:57 PM