When mezzo-soprano Stephanie Blythe appears on the Mondavi stage Friday, audiences will get the chance to hear a voice that many regard as one of the best mezzos in opera today.

Blythe has forged a reputation as a bold singer with a luminous voice. Her operatic roles include Fricka in both "Rheingold" and "Die Walküre" in the Seattle Opera's critically acclaimed staging of Wagner's complete Ring Cycle.

And most recently, she garnered rave reviews for her standout role as Orfeo in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Gluck's "Orfeo ed Euridice" earlier this year. The role is a demanding trouser role for mezzo-soprano, and for Blythe it solidified her career at the Met.

Blythe has also earned a stellar reputation as a recitalist. When she performs at the Mondavi Center, she will sing a work by composer and pianist Alan Louis Smith titled "Vignettes: Covered Wagon Woman for mezzo- soprano, piano, violin and cello."

That work was inspired by the mid-19th century journal entries of Sacramentan Margaret Frink. The 13-movement work conveys the travails Frink encountered while coming West during the Gold Rush.

The work is part of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center's "American Voices" project and was commissioned especially for Blythe during her residency there last year. For the performance she will be joined by three of the Lincoln Center musicians, cellist Priscilla Lee, violinist Ani Kavafian and pianist Warren Jones.

Also included in the evening's performance will be George Gershwin's "Lullaby for String Quartet," Amy Cheney Beach's Quintet in F-sharp minor for piano and strings, and John Antes' Trio in D minor for two violins and cello.

Blythe's tour began last week in the Midwest, not far from where Frink set out for California in 1850, with her progress mirroring some of the path taken by Frink, Blythe said via telephone from her home in Greentown, Pa.

The centerpiece of the concert will surely be Smith's song cycle.

This will be Blythe's second outing debuting a work by Smith. She premiered his "Vignettes: Ellis Island" in 2008. That work was written for voice and piano. With "Vignettes: Covered Wagon Woman," Smith has expanded the orchestration to a chamber setting.

"He (Smith) is a phenomenal pianist and he knows my voice well," said Blythe. "It's very important to find someone that knows how to write for your voice. It's probably the most important thing for a singer to find.

"It's so difficult to write for the voice, but Alan has this wonderful way of setting text to music, and it speaks to my particular voice. I would call it a soul connection."

Smith is a well-known pianist and is chairman of keyboard studies at the USC's Thornton School of Music in Los Angeles.

"We were so blown away with the 'Ellis Island' work and Stephanie's artistry as a recitalist," said David Finckel, artistic director of the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center.

"Stephanie has absolutely amazing vocal prowess and a unrivaled presence in the recital hall," he said. "When she walks onstage and starts to sing, people will not have to guess what to pay attention to. She's such a force of nature."

Often, opera singers with big voices and strong presences overwhelm in the recital format. Not so with Blythe, said Finckel.

"She knows how to taper her voice to the proportions of a recital," he said. "I cannot say enough about her as a collaborator as well as a concert soloist."

When Blythe read Frink's diary entries while preparing to sing the work, she instantly became connected with Frink's story.

"Anyone that hears this woman's story is sucked into it, and it's such a well-written journal," said Blythe.

Frink's diary entries describe the travails she faced with husband Ledyard Frink and two others as they traveled from Martinsville, Ind., to Sacramento between March and September of 1850.

In Sacramento, the couple operated a boardinghouse and built a home at Eighth and M streets. Ledyard Frink went on to serve on the City Council in 1855-56. The Frinks eventually retired to Oakland and left no descendants.

The song cycle Smith wrote is structured one syllable to a note, for clarity.

"My single goal in setting these marvelous texts to music was to be honest to the words, to the inherent emotions," said Smith in a written release.

For Blythe, who will make her San Francisco Opera debut this fall as Azucena in Verdi's "Il Trovatore" clarity is a big issue. It's one of her hallmarks as an opera singer, with her diction as clear as it gets with a mezzo-soprano.

As such, she seems perfectly matched to Smith's music.

"It's so important to marry voice to text," said Blythe. "We singers are fortunate, as musicians, to have text, because it creates an immediate connection to ourselves and the audience."

But that doesn't mean that audiences will have the text of "Vignettes: Covered Wagon Woman" at their disposal. That is due to Blythe's preference on performing recitals with written programs that do not offer the texts of what is being sung.

"That way they can just sit and listen to the music without having another lens taking away their attention," she said.

And if her reputation for clear and radiant singing is any indication, audiences will not miss reading along with her singing on Friday evening.

Call arts critic Edward Ortiz at (916) 321-1071.