By Peter Feher
There’s something sacred about the female voice. And while the title of “La Divina” has already been claimed, today’s sopranos might still aspire to a similar status — “La Diosa,” perhaps.
That’s the self-assertion made early on in Soy La Diosa (“I Am the Goddess”), a prophetic new piece by composer Gilda Lyons. The work’s soloist delivers this phrase after detailing, in alternate Spanish and English lyrics, the various guises her spirit can take: “messenger,” “creator,” “warrior,” “protector,” “shadow,” and “song.” Naturally, such shape-shifting calls for a comparable array of vocal techniques, everything from whoops to whispers to full-throated high notes.
Only a confident performer could embody these powerfully clashing roles, and soprano Estelí Gomez was in her element singing the world premiere of Lyons’ score on Saturday, February 28, at the Heights Theater. If the afternoon felt vaguely out of time and place — with the period instrumentalists of Les Délices not just accompanying but commissioning this contemporary endeavor — then ethereal aims accomplished.