By Robert D. Thomas
Music Critic, Southern California News Group
Kathleen Battle (shown in a previous recital) came to Cal State Northridge’s Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts for a thought-provoking and triumphant recital entitled “Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey.” Photo credit: timesfreepress.com
Even as she nears her 70th birthday in August, Kathleen Battle remains an enigma in music circles. She began her career singing in oratorios with dozens of orchestras (most notably her “hometown” Cincinnati Symphony), expanded into opera, and subsequently was infamously fired from the Metropolitan Opera in 1994 during rehearsals for The Daughter of the Regiment for "unprofessional actions … [that] were profoundly detrimental to the artistic collaboration among all the cast members,"
Along the way she captured five Grammys and numerous other awards and honors. Following her dismissal by the Met, Battle abandoned performing in opera and concentrated instead on recitals and recordings.
Among other things, she sang the world premiere of Honey and Rue, a song cycle with music by Oscar and Grammy-winner composer André Previn with lyrics by Nobel and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Toni Morrison, which was commissioned for Battle by Carnegie Hall for the hall’s 100th anniversary.
Now she has returned to her roots by crafting programs of spirituals, finally returning to the Met stage in November 2016 to sing a program entitled “Underground Railroad: A Spiritual Journey” before a sold-out house. She later reprised the program at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C.
It was that program she brought to the The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts (aka the Valley Performing Arts Center) on the campus of Cal State Northridge last night. The very long evening proved to be a stimulating, thought-provoking, well-crafted program that included Battle, the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, pianist Joel A. Martin and — most notably — actress Angela Basset reading from the works of Frederick Douglas, Harriet Tubman, Sojourner Truth, Robert Hayden and Dr. Charles Blockson.
The evening’s length was due to logistics — there was a little less than two hours of music and readings, about normal for a recital. However, the doors to the hall didn’t open until 7:40 and, given that many of those in attendance had not been in The Soraya before, it took more than 40 minutes to get the very large crowd seated. The recital began just after 8:30, more than 30 minutes after the announced start time, and ended at 11 p.m. (at least, that's when I left).
Through all her ups and downs Battle has always possessed one of the great, limpid, lyrical soprano voices of our generation and it was on full display throughout her portions of the evening — when Battle was center stage for her 14 numbers there was no doubt who was in the spotlight. Most notable were Go Down, Moses, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot, Fix Me Jesus, Balm In Gilead, and especially her first encore, an a cappella rendition of Were You There? In those numbers it was as if she had turned back the clock.
However, she was smart enough to give several solo turns to the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers (led by its interim artistic director, Dr. Diane White-Clayton) and to Martin, whose Gospel-laden piano work proved to be riveting throughout the evening. Battle seemed to revel in the work of her colleagues, encouraging applause and beaming as she listened. There were very few “diva” signs last night; she even limited her wardrobe to a simple black gown with a magenta cape.
Bassett’s narration (along with short parts read by choir members) told the story of the Underground Railroad and how those struggles apply today. The audience responded with growing enthusiasm throughout the readings and by the end of the recital, even those with little knowledge of the Underground Railroad had a good sense of this historic moment. That alone made the evening worthwhile.
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(c) Copyright 2018, Robert D. Thomas. All rights reserved. Portions may be quoted with attribution.
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