We left at the interval...

Châtelet, 18 February 2005 Wagner: Wesendonck-Lieder . Strauss: eight Lieder . Poulenc: La fraîcheur et le feu . Rachmaninov: six songs. With Jan Philip Schulze, piano. The conventions of a recital are bizarre. Soprano and pianist, in full evening drag, strut haughtily onstage, maintaining a stony silence and pretending the audience aren’t there. The audience, in perfectly ordinary mufti, shift stiffly in their seats as they pretend to enjoy 90 minutes of art song, coughing apoplectically between songs and clapping politely after each set. Only at the end, when tummies are singing for their supper and the scheduled programme is over, does the fun actually begin: the soprano lets down her hair, smiles and chats with the audience; the pianist breaks into a cheesy grin; the audience sink comfortably and expectantly into their seats, and the encores are wildly applauded. They, it seems, are what we really came for. Violeta Urmana made two tactical errors at the Châtelet last night. The Wes...