Many more great voices are born than ever come to fruition. And even impeccable training can take a mediocre voice only so far. But when nature and nurture happen to coincide, the result is glorious.

Dramatic soprano Deborah Voigt, featured soloist with the Honolulu Symphony on Friday night, has one of those rare, glorious voices, and it filled Blaisdell Concert Hall with ease. Voigt somehow made Blaisdell seem intimate, as though 80 to 90 musicians were an apt accompaniment for one singer.

"This is a massive voice," Maestro Samuel Wong noted with awe. "It is a voice to be experienced live."

True. But size is only part of what makes Voigt's voice glorious.

Her voice is also smooth and velvety warm throughout its ranges, from earthy in her chest voice to ringing in her head voice. And even Voigt's gown of shining gold could not match the rich luster of her tone.

And her technique! Strauss' long-breathed, uneven phrasing can be fiendishly difficult to sing, demanding enormous control, and his melodies require nuanced coloring and careful shaping of line. But those kinds of techniques do not often impress: if they are done well, as Voigt did, almost no one notices. (Hint: when you go, notice.)

Strauss alone is difficult enough, but Friday's weather added its own demands with soaring humidity, which tends to weigh down voices. Voigt revealed no audible hint of struggle: The audience reveled in the beauty of her voice, oblivious to the rain pouring relentlessly outside.

Voigt greeted the audience with "Dich, teu're Halle" from Act II of Wagner's (Tannhaeuser), returned in the second half with Strauss' "Four Last Songs," and finally closed with several encores, including a couple of popular songs, sung as never before.

In short, it was a wonderful concert, and no one who loves singing should miss it.

Maestro Wong and the Honolulu Symphony accompanied Voigt deftly and conjured rousing versions of Wagner's (Tannhaeuser) and (Flying Dutchman) overtures, highlighted by artful solos. The most notable included those by clarinetist Scott Anderson, concertmaster Ignace Jang, bassoonist Paul Barrett, English horn Jason Sudduth and percussionist Riely Francis. The trombones, cellos, and violas had their shining moments, as well.

The spotlight, however, belonged to unequivocally to Voigt throughout.