Performer etiquette

With all the discussion about audience applauding or not, I would like to turn the table, just a bit.

There is not a singer I admire more than Jose Van Dam. But I was very disappointed to see him hide behind a music stand at last night's recital at Alice Tully Hall. I suppose there are adequate excuses: he's singing Golaud at the Met, had sung another recital program early in the week and filled in at relatively the last minute for Anne Sofie von Otter (who in turn filled in for Lorraine Hunt Lieberson) with the Met orchestra at Carnegie Hall.

But c'mon! The recital was full of Schubert chestnuts (Ständchen, Du bist die Ruh), the Schumann Eichendorff Liederkreis and the Wolf Harfenspieler Lieder. Not really esoteric repertoire.

Perhaps this caused me to feel that M. Van Dam was somewhat detached from some of the songs (he was also coughing and clearing his throat a fair amount, which may have distracted him as well). The contrast with the two encores (from Dichterliebe), which were sung from memory, was striking. For the first time all night, I really felt that he was inside the pieces that he was singing.

Am I alone in this? I've always felt that song recitals should (barring remarkable circumstances) be sung from memory. As a singer, I've always felt this freed me from the notes on the page to do something interesting with the song. I can sightread just about as well as anyone, but only when I've memorized and lived with a piece, do I really feel that I can do it justice. As an audience member, I feel it brings me closer to the performer and the work. The music stand is a barrier.