By Zachary Bonner, Assistant News Editor
Vocalist Jennifer Trost and pianist Svetlana Radionova performed a recital on Sept. 25 in Stretansky Hall.
The recital consisted of two pieces, which exhibited similar emotional themes. In both performances Trost portrayed a woman who had lost love.
“Frauenliebe und leben, Op. 42” is most commonly translated as “Woman’s Love and Life” and is a collection of poems by Adalbert von Chamisso put to vocal and piano music by Robert Schumann.
“Beethoven’s Slippers: A Monodrama” is a separate type of piece in that it is a contemporary work composed for Trost by contemporary composer and vocalist Judith Cloud.
The piece is set in the late 1980s and follows a wealthy, older woman who is scorned by a lost love. The piano accompaniment draws from various classical composers but is grounded in Beethoven’s “Piano Sonata No. 15 in D Major,” a piece the main character of the story plays often.
The world premiere of the piece took place in November 2016 at Northern Arizona University, and is currently being showcased in Trost’s tour through Indiana, Michigan, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, New York and New Jersey.
Students who attended the recital noted the subject matter throughout the performance.
“I thought it was beautiful,” junior Emily Curto said. “I appreciated the very cohesive theme throughout the performance.” The performance was also attended by students who had little exposure to opera.
The recital was more accessible to listeners who weren’t studying classical music because “Beethoven’s Slippers” was sung in English and composed in a contemporary setting.
“Personally, the majority of vocal performances I’ve attended have been in the realm of musical theater,” senior Emily Shellenberger said.
“Even though [Trost] was singing in a language I don’t speak and in a style I’m unfamiliar with, I was still able to understand and enjoy the story that she was telling,” Shellenberger continued.
Trost has an extensive performance resume and a varied history as a recitalist.
According to her biography, she has performed most frequently as a lyric soprano, and moved into young dramatic soprano repertoire as her career progressed.
Currently Trost performs both soprano repertoire and mezzo-soprano repertoire.
Her career started as a resident artist at the Los Angeles Music Center Opera, the Santa Fe Opera, as well as Wuppertal Opera and the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. She has performed in operas such as Mozart’s “Le Nozze di Figaro”, Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” and Wagner’s “Die Walkure.”
In addition to opera singing, Trost also works as a voice teacher and a masterclass technician. She is also a member of the National Association of Teachers of Singing and the National Opera Association.
Trost is currently an associate professor at Penn State, where she teaches voice, song literature and opera literature.
Radionova started her performance career in St. Petersburg, Russia, and holds a doctorate from the Rimsky- Korsakov Conservatory.
She emigrated to the United States and has been a soloist in State College with the Nittany Valley Symphony, the Pennsylvania Center Orchestra, and the Penn’s Woods Festival Orchestra.
