About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

Christine Brewer is one of the hottest young sopranos on the scene in the first decade of the twenty first century, and Wigmore Hall has done well in releasing her concert performance of September 8, 2007, on this disc, Songs by Wagner, Wolf, Britten and John Carter, where she is parternered by unashamed accompanist Roger Vignoles. The program begins with standard art song cycles by Hugo Wolf and Richard Wagner, and these Brewer easily dispatches with aplomb, though it is in the later part of the program when Brewer throws caution to the four winds that things really get going. Brewer relishes the early and irreverent "Four Cabaret Songs" of Benjamin Britten and the live audience clearly appreciates her sense of frivolity and fun in these pieces. In a more serious turn, Brewer sings the gripping song cycle "Cantata" (1964) by obscure African-American composer John Carter (not to be confused with the free jazz clarinetist of the same name) who, like Brewer, was native to St. Louis. For encores, Brewer sings Hall Johnson's lovely arrangement of the spiritual "A City Called Heaven," Richard Strauss' "Ich liebe dich," and the show tune "Mira" from "Carnival."

Wigmore Hall's recording is slightly recessed and distant, so turning it up doesn't hurt, and although the audience is especially appreciative, some of the applause tends to hang on a bit long. Nevertheless, both Brewer and Vignoles are in terrific form throughout, and the program is impressive. While Brewer is able to scale the lofty heights of German art song with relative ease, inclusion of the John Carter work -- not to mention her fine interpretation of it -- demonstrates that Christine Brewer isn't about to lose sight of her roots in the American Midwest, and that it helps inform her view of the outside world. Songs by Wagner, Wolf, Britten, and John Carter is a highly appealing recital and will please anyone who enjoys taking lieder with a little extra variety. Uncle Dave Lewis, All Music Guide

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