Joyce DiDonato is far from the first singer to rethink Schubert’s “Winterreise.” This song cycle of spurned love and frosty anguish is by now a well-trod rite of passage for recitalists. Hans Zender once orchestrated what he called a “composed interpretation,” which Ian Bostridge later toured in a multimedia staging by Netia Jones. In “Winterize,” the piece’s journey was made literal as performer and audience walked through a chilly Brooklyn Botanic Garden. And the score, originally written for tenor, has been transposed every which way for different voice types — and genders. Even less is revealed about the woman he loves — yet her story is the one Ms. DiDonato wants to tell.

Source: New York Times December 16, 2019 17:37 UTC