Review: Cleveland Chamber Music Society — Susanna Phillips delights in art songs of another era

Timothy Robson, Cleveland Classical:

“The concert opened with Harry Williams’s World War I hit “It’s a Long Way to Tipperary.” Mr. Neubauer not only played a spritely countermelody, he also got to sing a verse or two. Edwin Greene’s touching lullaby/waltz “Sing Me to Sleep” of 1902 (but also popular during World War I) was made famous by early recording stars soprano Alma Gluck and her husband, violinst Efrem Zimbalist. The third song of the opening set was another WWI favorite, “Roses of Picardy.” There might have been high camp possibilities with these songs, but Ms. Phillips and her collaborators took them at face value and performed them with sincerity. Ms. Phillips has a clear lyric soprano voice, even from the bottom to the top of her range, but with plenty of sound that filled the church (and likely the vast spaces of the Metropolitan Opera house.)

Zachary Lewis, The Plain Dealer:

“Phillips herself required zero assistance. A singer known for starring roles at New York’s Metropolitan Opera, she proved a singular authority, brandishing a golden, powerful instrument and treating each song to generous servings of eloquence and feeling.”