Range, strength, intensity of soprano Susanna Phillips

Hailing from Alabama (eliciting laughter from listeners when she addressed them as "y'all") and trained at the Juilliard School, Phillips has spent time at the Marlboro Music Festival, sister organization to the Philadelphia Chamber Music Society, Friday's presenter.

Her range - rich throughout - suggested mezzo tendencies, and yet her top notes were fully expansive. As lovely and proper as Schubert's Ellens Gesang were, it was the later repertoire that had great personality. In Chausson's "Le colibri" ("The Hummingbird"), she went from pale and pure to a lovely breathiness. In "Les papillons" ("The Butterflies") with instantaneous facility, she reached deep into certain notes as though accessing a different singer altogether.

In all of her repertoire, but especially in Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder ("Seven Early Songs"), she was lucky to have Myra Huang, a pianist who was sly and supportive while still stating some strong opinions of her own. The Berg songs were written with orchestra, but slimming down the texture to piano highlighted harmonic progressions recalling Schumann and Wagner, and perhaps anticipated jazz. In one song, in a matter of seconds, Phillips grew her sound from one end of the dynamic scale to the other, suggesting the impact she could have in the opera house.

Gordon Myers' Do You Sing, Mr. Twain? was a clever series of one-liners, making a nice end to the recital (the entire text of one song: "Chastity - It can be carried too far").

But it was five songs from Messiaen's Poèmes pour Mi that, I think, fully suggested how far Phillips will go. Here, she manipulated her sound to suggest Ravel, various voice characterizations, and orchestral instruments. She was five singers in one, and totally at home.

Read his blog at www.philly.com/artswatch.