The problem is with audiences, who don't seem to need vocal recitals nearly as much as the singers. Devotees of vocal recitals travel long distances to hear them, but over the past few years, audience numbers appear to have dwindled. As a result, only the biggest names, such as Norman, have been able to schedule recitals consistently. Enter the Marilyn Horne Foundation, founded in 1992 by the famous but now retired mezzo-soprano, which addresses this problem intensively, underwriting 97 recitals by 45 artists in 17 states and sponsoring outreach programs in schools across the country that have reached 12,000 students. The long-range idea is to create future audiences for the art form.
Seeds can be slow in growing, even in a musically sophisticated community like Philadelphia.
And that's a struggle. And it can be so at the highest levels. Already-recorded recitals by Norman, such as Benjamin Britten's Phaedra for voice and chamber ensemble, may never be issued, she said, because recording executives have so little confidence in their commercial potential. Tangible success can be reported at Washington's Vocal Arts Society, which has increased its song recital concerts by a third over the last few years. The vocal recital, it seems, is one of those things people don't know they need until they discover it.