Soprano brings classic, contemporary favorites to Strathmore

The winner of four Grammy Awards, she has chosen a program for her Strathmore debut that reflects her affinity for a broad scope of styles. The concert opens with a set by American composer Charles Ives, who kept his day job in insurance in order to write songs that were ahead of his time. Pianist Gilbert Kalish, who frequently accompanies Upshaw, offers “Two Preludes” by Ruth Crawford Seeger, another musical maverick of the early 20th century with a fondness for dissonances and irregular meters.

Upshaw championed composer John Harbison for more than a decade before starring in the 1999 Metropolitan Opera premiere of his “The Great Gatsby,” based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The winner of the Pulitzer Prize for his cantata “The Flight Into Egypt,” Harbison adapted “Mirabai Songs” from translations by Robert Bly. Upshaw will sing six of the pieces based on writings of a 16th-century Hindu mystic.

“I first became aware of John when a colleague introduced me to his ‘Dreams and Prayers of Isaac the Blind,’ a piece he wrote for string quartet and clarinet,” she says. “I was drawn to these songs because they are descriptive and pretty. Whatever he writes is interesting and unusual, and it was a privilege to perform in his opera based on a great American novel in company with a distinctive cast.”

The second half of the program opens with “Lua descolorida,” by Osvaldo Golijov, another composer whose music suits Upshaw’s voice perfectly. She has sung several premieres of his chamber opera, “Ainadamar” (“Fountain of Tears”), based on the true story of Federico Lorca, the Spanish poet who was shot to death during the Spanish Civil War. This piece is Golijov’s setting of a nocturne by Rosalia de Castro, one of Lorca’s favorite poets.

“From the moment I heard his music, it went straight to the heart,” she said. “It’s very light and lyrical. I’ve recorded it several times, first with the Atlanta Symphony, Robert Spano conducting.”

Debussy’s “Ariettes oubliees,” a song cycle inspired by six of Paul Verlaine’s poems, provides the variety that Upshaw craves, undulating from ecstasy (“C’est extase languorous”) to sadness (“Il pleure dans mon Coeur”) to the joy of a merry-go-round (“Chevaux de bois”), ending with odes to nature (“Green”) and despair (“Spleen”).

Debussy’s “Ariettes oubliees,” a song cycle inspired by six of Paul Verlaine’s poems, provides the variety that Upshaw craves, undulating from ecstasy (“C’est extase languorous”) to sadness (“Il pleure dans mon Coeur”) to the joy of a merry-go-round (“Chevaux de bois”), ending with odes to nature (“Green”) and despair (“Spleen”).

Those tempted to relax and drift away dreamily during the Debussy set will perk up the moment Upshaw begins the five selections from Mussorgsky’s delightful “The Nursery.”

Sung in Russian, the songs mirror the chatty, inquisitive speech patterns of a child sitting “In the Corner” for mischief, singing a lullaby to a doll, bouncing “On a Hobby Horse” and praying for a host of relatives to postpone going to sleep.

Upshaw follows her Strathmore concert with a master class at Levine School of Music. A recent winner of a prestigious MacArthur “genius” Fellowship, she is contemplating how best to use it, perhaps to commission new works or help young singers like those she teaches at Bard College. No matter her decision, she will continue thrilling audiences with a glorious potpourri of vocal works spanning Bach, Berg and Bernstein.