Sumi Jo / James Conlon: Prayers
This program seems designed primarily to display sopranoSumi Jo's fabulous singing and famous stylistic eclecticism. However, it also exhibits an  admirable religious inclusiveness, encompassing expressions of faith from the  Latin liturgy to Negro spirituals; there is even a Richard Strauss song that  is essentially a paean to love. An incongruous note is struck by a nun's song  from an operetta by Benatzky that is a corny Viennese waltz and by a  soundtracklike arrangement of a 16th-century Ave Maria. Ranging from Mozart  to Broadway, this musical mix is held together by Sumi Jo's ravishingly  beautiful, pure, warm voice and the way she can color and inflect it, and by  her mastery of every style (though not every language; her German in  particular is unintelligible). Her intonation is impeccable, her  breath control incredible. Jo's top notes soar triumphantly, and she can  sustain them indefinitely, with enough power left to make a crescendo at the  end. Highlights include Ravel's "Kaddisch," which sends shivers down the  spine; arias from operas by Rossini and Donizetti; and arias from sacred works by Gounod and Fauré. Of two spirituals, the second one is simpler and more convincing. The accompanying forces are excellent; James Conlon doubles as pianist when not conducting. Susan Graham also makes an appearance in the moving invocation "Take Care of This House" from Bernstein's1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.--Edith Eisler