It’s always a privilege to get a chance to watch budding young singers test their craft in front of an audience. I often go to student recitals and observe the singers with a keen eye, breaking down what they have been taught, what experience might yet teach them over time, and what I would try to help them with if I had the opportunity, specifically in regards to stage craft, an all-too often neglected aspect of performing that singers need to acquire if they want to master their profession. It can and should be taught – as early as possible in a singer’s curriculum. Sadly, I all too often look in vain for traces of its application. But every now and then, I come across a singer who seems to have cracked this particular code on their own. It’s an immense thrill when it happens.
Bass-baritone William Socolof, who currently pursues an artist diploma in opera studies at Juilliard, recently gave his debut recital at Merkin Hall, presenting a sophisticated program, carefully developed with accompanist Gracie Francis. I had already seen Mr. Socolof perform a couple of times, notably at Juilliard’s production of Luigi Rossi’s L’Orfeo, where he played a flamboyant satyr, commanding the stage with a mix of glee and flares of fiery spunk. His recital proved that he is equally, if not even more at home on the concert stage.
Mr. Socolof, clad in a matte black coat adorned with a brooch, arrived with the kind of confidence that is fueled by a strong sense of purpose: from the moment he entered the stage, he was completely in his element and reveling in it with astoundingly mature restrain. Acknowledging the audience’s welcome with genuine humility and charm, he first launched into Ibert’s Quatre Chanson de Don Quichotte, bringing to life the tragic knight’s blend of dreamy madness and sad yearning with understated intensity. The unfolding program included songs by Schubert, Debussy, and Mahler; a selection of modern and contemporary art songs; and even traditional Yiddish folk song. Stringing together such a wildly mixed repertoire would have been a challenge for any singer, but Mr. Socolof flowed easily from one to the next, treating them all with great care and an even hand, demonstrating within each number his deep immersion into the text. This is a singer who reads lyrics very, very closely. There was not an ounce of uncertainty in his delivery: clear choices had been made for every single note, every word, and every pause. Mr. Socolof conveys that rare inner calm best described as poise. He knows how to modulate his warm and winning voice to bring out exquisite levels of refinement and tenderness as well as commanding strength. His diction is crisp, his French and German pronunciation remarkable. Perhaps most impressively, his body seems to instinctively align the musical dimension, where time and space are magically condensed and stretched: he moves through this ethereal element with the grace of an animal, freely switching form to fit the context – be it a growling wounded bear to bring excerpts of Schubert’s Schwanengesang to life, or a languid cat reveling in Debussy’s Chansons de Bilitis. And he has found in Ms. Francis the perfect collaborator to match his controlled intensity with artful precision and understatement.
When the last note of Mahler’s Urlicht dissolved into the room like the last glimmer of a shooting star, the audience instinctively rose to offer Mr. Socolof and Ms. Francis the first of three, well-deserved standing ovations. The encore was a bit of a surprise: “People,” from Jule Styne’s musical Funny Girl. For a short moment, I feared that this old showboat might drive the performer off-course, but I need not have feared: Socolof delivered it with humble simplicity, staying true to the song’s pure message and thereby turning the song into an ode to his audience.
I often say that art, more than anything, can teach us to pay close attention. But when an artist combines this sort of commitment with intelligence, focused dedication and the utmost care, the line between art and artist is blurred and the phenomenon of living art emerges out of it. This is Mr. Socolof ‘s destined path. S’wird leuchten ihm bis an das ewig selig Leben.