MUSIC

Lila Downs

Near the beginning of her concert Thursday night at the Music Center at Strathmore, Lila Downs promised the audience "some beautiful songs from the Mexican tradition of drinkin' and cryin'," and she enjoyed herself immensely while fulfilling that promise. Her knee-length woven braids swaying as she danced, her clothes sparkling and her eyes bright, Downs proved that sometimes the best way to make a bad time feel good is to feel bad as hard as you can.

Downs, who is of Scottish American and Mexican heritage, mostly stuck with her Mexican repertoire Thursday -- much of it from her new album, "La Cantina" -- though her ballad "Land" celebrated the contributions of migrant farm workers with well-assimilated R&B vocal stylings. She also delivered snarling snatches of rap in "Tu Recuerdo y Yo," proving that she could have a second reggaeton career if she wanted. But Downs dug deepest into songs with naked, vast sorrow, such as "Pa' Todo el Año" and the mariachi standard "Traigo Penas en el Alma," letting her bracing voice expand and reach higher until it was hard not to both despair and marvel.

Charanga Cakewalk, a cumbia band led by the ebullient accordionist Michael Ramos, made a suitable opener: The music was upbeat and engaging, powered by Ramos's imaginative soloing, but it nevertheless felt pale when compared with Downs's intensity. The band might have made a bigger impact with a few more instrumentalists; during the concert, one band member merrily mimed percussion as beats streamed forth from a laptop.

-- Andrew Lindemann Malone

'H.M.S. Pinafore'

The Washington Savoyards brought a sterling production of Gilbert and Sullivan's "H.M.S. Pinafore" to the Duke Ellington Theater on Thursday. The operetta never sounded more jovial or looked more enticing.

Organized in 1976, the company and its retinue of G&S aficionados are dedicated to producing Gilbert and Sullivan in the Washington area, highlighting a cast of young performers from ages 13 to 25. Conductor A. Scott Wood led a supportive orchestra. The singers made a strongly effective troupe: Heading the cast were the promising tenor Aaron Reeder (as the humble sailor Ralph Rackstraw), powerful soprano Laura Wehrmeyer (his loyal Josephine), the fine bass Matt Williams (villainous Dick Deadeye), radiant mezzo Madalaine Vander-Linden ( Little Buttercup), and lustrous baritones Rick DuPuy (Sir Joseph Porter) and Christopher Austin (Captain Corcoran).

The performers also included a winning chorus of tarheels and Sir Joseph's relatives, who lustily sing the unforgettable "We are his sisters and his cousins and his aunts." Under stage director Pamela Leighton-Bilik, all served to make "Pinafore" a highly effective production, its success reinforced by clever sets, brightly hued period costumes and well-coordinated lighting.

Inserted between acts, Sullivan's trite, long-winded one-acter "The Zoo" was nicely done but merely intrusive.

The program repeats today and tomorrow( http://www.savoyards.org ).

-- Cecelia Porter