KEY POINTS:
It is rare to find a programme as thoughtful as the one Anna Leese and Terence Dennis presented in the final concert of their Chamber Music New Zealand tour.
Songs, lieder and arias in four languages took us from Purcell to Puccini, opening with three centuries of English song compressed into 35 minutes.
Mad Bess became a full theatrical experience, as Leese caught the shifting torments of Purcell's hapless madwoman; the soprano's brilliant coloratura in Sweeter than Roses would find later echoes in the fiery roulades of Britten's Let the florid music praise.
This was an evening of connections. The opening Purcell songs had their piano parts supplied by Britten while the south-of-the-Pyrenees lilt that Leese and Dennis brought to Walton's Through Gilded Trellises was a preview of a trip to Spain after the interval.
Two Haydn Canzonets were immaculately sung but suffered from the aural weight of Dennis' Steinway. For some reason, a German translation was used, perhaps to link them up to the Strauss later on.
By interval, it was apparent that Leese's greatest strength lies in her total immersion in her music. One suspects she has little trouble conjuring up the many characters and voices that the great Elisabeth Schwarzkopf once said were the staple requirement of any recitalist.
In the second half, we were taken to mainland Europe, alighting in Spain with Alvarez's passionate La Partida and two characterful Castilian Songs by Guridi, all dispensed with flair.
Strauss' Brentano Lieder highlighted the close partnership of Leese and Dennis; the pianist laid out evocative settings for Leese's bittersweet plaints while the singer fearlessly navigated slippery vocal lines and soaring arches of melody. Only the third, Sausle, liebe Myrte!, despite some skilful word colouring, had a moment of insecure tonal control.
There would be more Strauss by way of an encore - a rather subdued Morgen - but not until Italy had been included on the itinerary.
Two glowing Puccini arias, despite Dennis' skilful accompaniment, did make one wish an orchestra could have been smuggled on stage to provide the perfect backdrop for Leese's glorious soprano.
