Kristin Chenoweth News

Kristin Chenoweth has an outsized personality that shines best on stage, even one as vast as the Metropolitan Opera. And there she was Friday, giving her all in a solo concert backed by 12 sterling musicians, two dancers and, for several numbers, the Juilliard Choral Union.

Chenoweth's musical-theater technique, seen in such Broadway shows as "Wicked," "You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown" and "The Apple Tree," is so effortless, it seems instinctive. And she used it to good advantage at the Met, particularly during the first half of the evening.

For Chenoweth fans, the entertainment before intermission consisted mostly of material she has done before — comic numbers such as "Popular," "The Girl in 14G" and "Taylor, the Latte Boy." They are songs she has sung either in musicals, previous concert appearances (at smaller venues) or on CD.

Wearing a short red dress, the effervescent Chenoweth, under the guidance of director Kathleen Marshall, scampered with ease across the wide stage. She's a gleeful, game performer, moving with confidence even when hoofing with such experienced dancers as David Elder and Sean Martin Hingston in the sweetly nostalgic "Goin' to the Dance with You."

Even with a sound system that was a bit muddy — a situation corrected for the most part by Act 2 — her buoyant personality came through.

The second half was more formal, and Chenoweth returned after the break in a tight-fitting, strapless blue gown that made one fear for a wardrobe malfunction. Trained as an opera singer, she was right at home in "Italian Street Song," from Victor Herbert's "Naughty Marietta" as well as in a Gilbert and Sullivan medley that was awash in trills.

Second-act highlights included "Love Somebody Now," an urgent plea to seize the day by composer-lyricist Andrew Lippa, who also served as Chenoweth's musical director. Lippa is one of those invaluable and increasingly rare accompanists. He was totally in tune with his leading lady, an equal partner in their music-making. Plus Lippa looked as if he was having as much fun as she was.

Chenoweth is known for her comic fearlessness. Even when she muffed a lyric — which she did with the tongue-twisting words of Betty Comden and Adolph Green in "If You Hadn't But You Did" (music by Jule Styne) — she was able to work the stumble for a laugh. The woman can banter with ease.

Chenoweth has sometimes been accused of shortchanging emotion when she sings. She disproved that observation most emphatically with a lovely, affecting "Hard Times," a Stephen Foster song that should be better known. She did it again during her last encore, delivering a wistful, touching rendition of "What Makes Me Love Him." The performer dedicated this haunting song from "The Apple Tree" to Lippa — a most appropriate finale for a memorable evening.