By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

It was in the middle of the song "Wagner Roles," a hilarious spoof by Benjamin Moore, that opera star Deborah Voigt brought down the house with the lines, "In this business I'm in, it's really a mess; not to mention the deal with that little black dress!"

The audience clearly got the joke, at the Dayton Opera Star Gala Tuesday night in the Schuster Center, and the invincible Voigt proved in her multi-layered recital that she is not only one of the world's greatest singers - but she also has a great sense of humor.

The reference, of course, was to the furor surrounding Voigt's having been dropped from the London Royal Opera's Ariadne auf Naxos, her signature role, because she couldn't fit into a black cocktail dress in the updated production.

With such a magnificent artist, such thinking is incomprehensible. From the first notes of her recital on Tuesday, it was clear that this is the era of the soprano, and her name is Deborah Voigt.

She walked out to bravos, and launched into a group of Schubert songs, her voice as resplendent as her glittering turquoise gown.

Her delivery was communicative and radiant, and her diction flawless. The effortless power of her high notes was astonishing, and she sang with wonderful color in every range.

She chatted amiably between sets to the audience - once, when a cell phone went off, she laughed it off with, "It's not for me!" At the piano, Brian Zeger was her seamless partner, supporting her with controlled, rich color.

Schubert's "Auflosung" (Dissolution) was a rapturous opener, followed by "Ganymed," where Voigt embraced each word of Goethe's text with heartfelt emotion. Schubert's "Litany for the Feast of All Souls" was a display of her ability to sing softly; in "Der Zwerg" (The Dwarf), she was a dramatic storyteller.

She unleashed her vocal splendor in a group of Richard Strauss songs, capturing both the passion and sadness of "Befreit" (Freed) in a deeply felt performance.

Two Tchaikovsky songs, sung in Russian, offered another chance to hear her gleaming power. "Whether day dawns" had a warm brilliance, sung with a smile and arms flung wide.

After intermission, Voigt changed into a shimmery silver confection edged with sequins and feathers for a lighter menu of Broadway tunes, opera arias and no fewer than five encores for her adoring fans.

She swirled her feathers flirtatiously, leaned back on the piano and charmed with "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" and "I Could Have Danced All Night" from My Fair Lady.

Kern's "Can't Help Lovin' That Man" from Showboat was sultry and spectacular, and the audience leaned on every word. This was no opera diva condescending to sing Broadway; her inflection had a natural, irresistible quality.

From opera, she sang a poignant "Ecco, respire appena" (Look, I can scarcely breathe) from Cilea's Adriana Lecouvreur, "Vissi d'arte" from Puccini's Tosca and Lady Macbeth's great Act I scene from Verdi's Macbeth.

The famous "Vissi d'arte" was dazzling, and Voigt evoked its tragedy vividly. She had the uncanny ability to inhabit each role fully, one after the other.

In Macbeth, after speaking the text of Macbeth's letter, she launched into the double aria exultantly, with fearless flights of coloratura.

Her encores included the Richard Strauss gem, "Zueignung" and "Wagner Roles" - the latter delivered with great comic timing and a shimmy. "Pace pace, mio Dio" from Verdi's LaFforza del Destino, was as riveting for her lustrous tone as for her expression.

She approached Stephen Sondheim's bluesy "Losing My Mind" and George and Ira Gershwin's "Someone to Watch Over Me" with a big heart and a broad smile.

Voigt repeats her recital at 8 p.m. today in the Schuster Center, Second and Main streets, Dayton. Tickets: (888) 228-3630. She will perform in Cincinnati May Festival in Music Hall on May 22. Tickets: 381-3300.

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com