Von Stade, at Tanglewood, does it her way

Frederica von Stade only has to smile and do that little gesture of curling her hair behind her ear, and the memories come back. An early Rosina at the Met, in "The Barber of Seville." (If that little tenor could elope with her, why couldn't I?) A shimmering, mysterious "Sheherazade" with orchestra. Lovely recordings of Berlioz "Nuits d'Ete," Offenbach's "La Perichole," and Berlioz's "Damnation of Faust." Lots of recitals. As a young man, I had a crush on her. I still do. She was the girl next door who liked horses and sang roulades. She still is.

She has kept all of her slender elegance and is singing well, if more rarely, at 63. In the mezzo-soprano's first appearance at Tanglewood since 2005, von Stade returned Wednesday for a recital at Ozawa Hall. The program was a mix of French or Francophile amuses bouches, with some German and American thrown in. It's as if she was saying, "I will now sing only what I like - and not very much." That's lovely, but one kept waiting for a main course.

There is a slight pitch-spread on some notes, and every so often a hint of flatness, but she has taken good care of herself, and still sings with her personal nuance - to you. In a group of songs about roses (Rorem, Faure, Schubert, Strauss, and Guglielmi/Piaf), "Les Roses d'Ispahan" was a sensual delight, her caressing of the words "une odeur moins douce" a lesson for every student of singing. Then, after songs about Paris (Rorem, Poulenc, Berthomieu) and arias from Thomas's "Mignon," came the highpoint of the evening: Jake Heggie's song "Primary Colors," with a text by Sister Helen Prejean that showed another side, the spiritual intensity, of this singer, with a flute obbligato hauntingly played by guest artist Mathieu Dufour.

Chicago Symphony's principal flute for almost a decade, Dufour played several dazzling showpieces with Peter Grunberg, von Stade's able and sensitive accompanist. Then the threesome performed "La flute enchantee," from "Sheherazade" again exquisitely - and three Christmas songs by the Swiss composer Frank Martin.

There was perhaps too much Dufour and not enough von Stade. A great and beloved singer should have the stage to herself, shared perhaps only with our memories. The future will take care of itself.

Correction: Because of an editing error, an article in Friday's Weekend section incorrectly listed the works sung at mezzo-soprano Frederica von Stades's Tanglewood recital on Aug. 13. She sang a mix of mostly light works, of French, Swiss, German, and American origins.