Yun-Kyoung Yi’s Song Recital

Yun-Kyoung Yi and Raul Sunico

Featuring:

Yun-Kyoung Yi, soprano

Arthur Espiritu, tenor

Raul Sunico, piano

Programme:

Antonio Vivaldi

     Alta Aria del Vagante from Juditha triumphans

     Agitata da due venti from La Griselda

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart L’amero from Il Re Pastore

Giuseppe Verdi Merce, dilette amiche from I Vespri Siciliani

Gioachino Rossini Una voce poco fa from Il Barbiere de Siviglia

Two Vocalizzi per Soprano

     Renzo Rossellini V. Andante, con abbandono (come una Berceuse)

     Ettore Pozzoli VI. Adagio, con molta calma

Gioachino Rossini Si, ritrovaria io guiro from La Cenerentola

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Il mio tesoro from Don Giovanni

Reinhold Gliere Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra

                      I. Andante

Ambroise Thomas A vos jeux, mes amis from Hamlet

Back in 2009, Korean Yun-Kyoung Yi performed with the Philippine Philharmonic Orchestra and had a solo recital which became the talk of many music enthusiasts. I was among the unfortunate ones who failed to see both performances back then. But fortunately, Yi came back again to the country to play Violetta in La Traviata which got the music lovers talking once more. But before that, she had a solo recital held at the Philam Life Auditorium in which I finally experienced for myself why people talked about her.

I got a bit worried if I would really appreciate this recital since I wasn’t really familiar with the concert repertoire which I only found out on the night itself. I knew beforehand that Dr. Raul Sunico would be accompanying on the piano but it was also during this time when I realized that tenor Arthur Espiritu would also be part of the recital as well. I did find it very peculiar that the audience cheered so loudly upon the entrance of Yun-Kyoung Yi on stage and she had not sung a single note yet. I thought that there must be a reason why people behaved this way.

I immediately found out the reason since her voice was indeed phenomenal. Helped by the hall’s superior acoustics, her voice projection seemed inhuman. It didn’t matter that I didn’t know majority of the arias that she performed that evening since I was captivated by her voice. She even made me appreciate the leaps and turns of Agitata da venti due by Antonio Vivaldi which is from the Baroque era and music from that time doesn’t really appeal to me that much. Most of the first half was devoted to music that showcased runs, turns and all that vocal gymnastics but she showed her versatility, range and control during the second half that had a more subdued and restrained selection of pieces.

RAd and Yun-Kyoung Yi

Arthur Espiritu sang two arias which were totally alien to me. As I’ve said, I didn’t expect him to be a part of the recital so I wasn’t prepared for him at all. But his performance did prepare me for his portrayal of Alfredo in La Traviata. I’ve already heard him twice but I still find it hard to believe that his speaking voice doesn’t offer any clue that he is actually an operatic tenor. I thought that Arthur and Yun-Kyoung Yi would do a duet but they didn’t.

One other thing that I thought would happen was that the entire Concerto for Coloratura Soprano and Orchestra (well, it was just the piano that night) would be performed. I asked Dr. Sunico before the concert if both movements would be performed but he couldn’t give me a definite answer. Unfortunately, it was only the first movement Andante that Yi performed. I was really hoping that she would do the second movement Allegro which is truly a showstopper. But the last final piece of the night, Ambroise Thomas’ A vos jeux, mes amis from Hamlet made me forget about my initial disappointment since this is like a showstopper that morphed into an aria. She clearly deserved all the praise from her previous performances and I knew that I’d be telling people about how great she is as well.

The audience wouldn’t let the night wrap up without her singing an encore and she delighted everyone with her rendition of Frühlingsstimmen by Johann Strauss II and Iyo Kailan Pa Man, a lovely kundiman by Angel Peña. Maestro Jae-Joon Lee, who obviously watched the recital, told us afterwards that Yun-Kyoung Yi only learned how to sing the kundiman for just two days. And the talk about this kundiman lasted for more than two days since many were moved to tears by Yi’s performance.

Yun-Kyoung Yi says goodbye

After the concert, people still couldn’t get enough of Yun-Kyoung Yi as she was mobbed by people congratulating her and asking to have photos with her as well. She accommodated a lot of her admirers to the point that her companions had to wait for her at the parking lot. Sadly, she had to dash off to join them but it’s a good thing that there was still La Traviata to look forward to after that. And the blog entry for that one is coming next.