The pitch did play more easily in the brighter and fresher atmosphere yesterday.
Amanda Forsythe, who made a strong impression as Drusilla in "Poppea," proved both a more supple and a more virtuosic performer in the brighter spotlight Venus afforded her.
He was particularly affecting in the brighter "Frühlingsmorgen" ("Spring Morning"), and his graceful, soft-edged reading of the "Phantasie" had an irresistible melting quality.
He didn't interrogate her on her whereabouts these past two weeks, on the matter of who or what had detained her in the brighter, more exciting ports of Europe, and she didn't mention it.
In the brighter, faster second section, a delectably counterpointed, folk- dance-inflected duo for the men and a bravura finish for all four provide a surprising, but somehow inevitable conclusion.
When, in the autumnal twilight-of-life solo near the end, we recognize some of the same material that had been shown in the brighter earlier section, the effect is movingly meditative.
