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| Kathleen Battle |
By Darlene Donloe
It was a powerful, emotional,
and entertaining evening as soprano extraordinaire, Kathleen Battle, through
songs and narratives, transported attendees to another time and place during
her Underground Railroad: A Spiritual
Journey performance at The Soraya, the Valley’s Center For The Performing Arts
at California State University Northridge.
The Los
Angeles premiere of her extraordinary program,
which Battle, reportedly, only performs in cities along the actual Underground
Railroad, pays homage to the tumultuous journey to freedom many took during
slavery. The Underground Railroad was the
19th-century network of safe houses that helped African-Americans to escape
from slavery.
Draped in a floor-length
black gown – accentuated with a long, pink sash, the regal Battle, who was
making her debut at the venue, took the stage, accompanied by pianist Joel A.
Martin, the Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, interim artistic director Dr. Diane
White-Clayton and actress Angela Bassett, who narrated from the works of Frederick
Douglass, Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth.
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| Angela Bassett |
Battle, who clearly sings from her heart and soul, opened the show with an a capella interpretation of Lord, How Come Me Here?, that set the tone for the evening. It was spine-chilling, gut-wrenching, emotive and memorable.
Before an appreciative crowd
that showered her with frequent applause and standing ovations, the affecting five-time Grammy Award-winning soprano commanded a spirit-filled show that focused on a special program of stories and traditional and classic spirituals
that included Go Down, Moses, Roll, Jordan, Roll, I’ll Never Turn Back No More,
Hush, Wade in the Water, Swing Low, Sweet Chariot.
The show also included Hold On, Gospel Train, In Bright Mansions,
Glory, Glory, Hallelujah!, Fix Me, Jesus, I Don’t Feel No Ways Tired, Balm in
Gilead, Climbin’ High Mountains and Ain’t
Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me ‘Roun’.
“Spirituals have the power to
uplift and to heal, and we certainly need that in today’s world,” said Battle. “This
is a program, which brings together my musical background and my cultural
heritage.”
Framed mid-stage at the
piano, the legendary Battle put her exquisite, silky vocals on display, filling
the auditorium with drama, sweetness and brilliance.
Battle, who is one of the
first Black American women to perform at the world's leading opera houses (La
Scala in Milan, Covent Garden in London and the Metropolitan Opera in New York),
knows her way around a song. She wraps herself inside each note, delivering material
that stirs the soul.
Making her debut at the Younes
and Soraya Nazarian Center For The Performing Arts, California State University
Northridge, affectionately known as The Soraya, Battle was joined on stage by
Bassett whose interpretive readings of the works of Douglass, Tubman, and
Truth, was masterful, inspiring and a crowd-pleaser.
“...I have sometimes thought that the
mere hearing of those songs would do more to impress some minds with the
horrible character of slavery, than the reading of whole volumes of philosophy
on the subject could do.
---Frederick Douglass (1818-1895)
Battle’s pianist, Joel A.
Martin, nearly stole the show, showing up and showing out with his impeccable and
joyous piano playing. It was clear that he was enjoying his role in the night’s
proceedings.
Selected members of the LA-based
Albert McNeil Jubilee Singers, Ralph Cato, Carolyn Richardson, Erinn Horton,
Ralph Pettiford, Jonah Nelson, Marlaina Owens, Evelyn Davis and David Saul Lee,
delivered stunning and notable solos.
Going off script, after
leaving the stage, Battle returned and gave what can only be described as a
“spiritual” a capella rendition of Were
You There When They Crucified My Lord. She then stunned the audience by asking
if she could quickly rehearse Little
David Play On Your Harp with the first and second sopranos because they
only had one time to rehearse the song prior to the evening’s show. With her
back to the audience and using one hand to find notes on the piano, Battle
gently guided the sopranos through their notes until they were ready to perform
it before the audience. It was classic, honest and received one of the
evening’s most raucous standing ovations.
The evening was capped with
Battle, along with the audience, singing a rousing rendition of the Negro
National Anthem, Lift Every Voice and
Sing.
Running time: 2 hours, 20
minutes
Kathleen Battle: Underground
Railroad – A Spiritual Journey, The Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the
Performing Arts (The Soraya), 18111 Nordhoff Street, Northridge, CA 91330, ValleyPerformingArtsCenter.org
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