Karen Almond

DeShong must be one of the most underutilized singers on the market today. Navigating repertoire that ranges from Handel to Meyerbeer to Rossini to, more recently, Verdi, the cunning musicality and handsome, powerful vocalism never fail to impress. One wonders when — and what — the project that fully shows off this unusually talented and reliable artist will be.

This week’s tribute features DeShong in a clip from a previous New York visit, a 2019 Semele with The English Concert, as well as a bit of her Polina from The Queen of Spades recorded in 2020. The latter opera, as cher public knows, will return to the Met tonight but with Maria Barakova as Liza’s friend.

Handel: Semele, “Awake, Saturnia… Hence, Iris, hence away”

Elizabeth DeShong
Ailish Tynan

Harry Bicket, conductor
The English Concert
Carnegie Hall
14 April 2019
In-house

Tchaikovsky: The Queen of Spades, “Podrugi milïe”

Elizabeth DeShong

Andrew Davis
Lyric Opera of Chicago
19 February 2020
Broadcast