The drama of tonight’s Toronto Summer Music Recital at Koerner Hall was as much about the one who didn’t sing (Sondra Radvanovsky) as the one who did (J’Nai Bridges).

I’m sympathetic to Sondra however much I may have wished to hear her. A mature artist’s name and reputation become a valuable commodity to be protected even if that makes twice this year, when we recall her cancellation in the Canadian Opera Company’s Macbeth. I hope she’ll be feeling better soon.

How wonderful then to see the delightful concert TSM conjured up on short notice featuring J’Nai Bridges, last season’s COC Carmen.

She told us this was her first Canadian recital, wearing a glorious gown in shimmering gold. Erika my wife might be able to tell you what it was made of, I only know that she looked very beautiful from the first moment to the last encore. She is a singer of the younger generation, as I was shown on social media by my friend Jane who accompanied me. Here’s a screen capture from a video on Instagram that gives you a look at her easy smile and her powerful physique. She has a natural charisma, as we saw soon enough.

It’s funny that the substitute program they conjured up at the last minute should feel so comfortable, between a well-known cycle by Ravel, and music from J’Nai’s roots in church, aided by two of the talented artists in town for the festival, namely Rachael Kerr piano and Sheila Jaffé. I was reminded of Leontyne Price who also started out singing gospel in church, and would often bring some of that music into her recitals. That kind of music is where her authenticity comes from, where she was originally grounded.

And so we began with an item not listed on the program, Malotte’s Lord’s Prayer, ably supported by Rachael Kerr at the piano with a bluesy feel to end the first section (“as it is in heaven”). When we do The Lord’s Prayer in my church this Sunday we will sing a softer and more prayerful one, where this older piece is virtuosic featuring brilliant high notes, perfect for J’Nai to start off the program.

The first half featured songs by Brahms: from Op. 59, Op. 43 and, Op. 91, joined for the last two songs by violist Sheila Jaffé.

After intermission we heard the three Ravel Shéhérazade songs, featuring a delicate and idiomatic sound at the piano from Rachael. J’Nai seemed to be telling us stories, as she looked up into the concert hall. I love this cycle, and think it sounds ideal for her voice.

We finished with John Carter’s Cantata, a collection of gospel melodies from church, including Peter Go Ring Dem Bells, Sometimes I Feel Like a Motherless Child, Let Us Break Bread Together and Ride On King Jesus. The piano part is fierce, including lots of challenging passages taking us in unexpected directions.

When our applause persuaded J’Nai to offer an encore, it shouldn’t have surprised me that she sang the Habanera from Carmen. Of course! But this time, instead of seeking to seduce Don José it was as though she were seducing everyone in the concert hall. The second encore was a moving reading of “You’ll never walk alone” to conclude.