United Kingdom Verdi, Requiem: Marie Lys (soprano), Elīna Garanča (mezzo-soprano), Piotr Beczała (tenor), William Thomas (bass), Philharmonia Refrain and Orchestra / Riccardo Muti (conductor). Royal Competition Corridor, London, 27.3.2025. (JR)
Verdi – Requiem
It was as way back as 2010 when Muti final visited Britain to conduct the Philharmonia. This live performance of Verdi’s Messa da Requiem was to have been in 2020, however COVID-19 struck.
Neil Fisher, chief music critic of The Occasions not too long ago interviewed Riccardo Muti and aptly described him because the final of the ‘Large Beasts’. Tickets for this live performance have been like gold-dust, the corridor was packed to the gunwales; there have been individuals standing (with paid tickets) on the rear of the stalls. This was not merely one other live performance – it was a significant musical occasion. There have been former gamers of the Philharmonia Orchestra within the viewers who had carried out underneath Muti when he was their Principal Conductor from 1972 to 1982 (I vividly recall his white-hot Tchaikovsky symphony performances with the orchestra on the finish of the Seventies); there was the Far East contingent who solely appear to emerge for the Large Names; and music-lovers had travelled from far and extensive to witness the event. Muti has been performing and recording this work for many years, is aware of each observe, and has developed his personal fairly distinct and highly effective interpretation, even when not adhering strictly to the composer’s markings. Some passages are slower than you’ll anticipate, others sooner akin to the beginning of the ‘Sanctus’ which nearly caught the refrain off-guard.
Muti additionally has his favoured group of soloists for this week, so was unlucky that each his soprano withdrew some weeks in the past – and his Italian bass pulled out earlier than they may cease printing the live performance programmes together with his identify.
Of the 4 soloists, two have been merely in a distinct league. Latvian mezzo-soprano Elīna Garanča was radiant, spellbinding and commanding in ‘Liber scriptus’. Polish tenor Piotr Beczała was on his best unsurpassable kind: his ‘Ingemisco’ was a delight, saving his voice a contact for an exhilarating ‘statuens in parte dextra’ end. Beczała stole the present once more in his supply of ‘Hostias et preces’. Although Swiss soprano Marie Lys had glitter in her prime notes, she lacked the amount wanted for a lot of the half, particularly within the last part, the ‘Libera me’. Younger British bass William Thomas stepped in bravely on the final minute into the distinguished line of soloists and, while not commanding consideration, actually didn’t let anybody down. He appeared (understandably?) barely in awe of the grand event. Muti stored an in depth eye and ear on him to make sure his tempi have been being adopted. Thomas doesn’t, for my part, fairly have the fitting darkish stentorian Italianate voice for this position: Thomas was happier with the lighter, baritone tones.
The refrain have been first-class, from the hushed unaccompanied opening ‘Requiem aeternam’ to the hurled out ‘Dies irae’. Muti had clearly been engaged on them to obviously pronounce sure essential phrases akin to ‘calamitatis’. I admired, specifically, the intonation of the sopranos on their excessive notes and the mellow weight of the alto part. The boys got here strongly to the fore in an amazing ‘Tuba mirum’ and shook away the cobwebs with a forceful ‘Rex tremendae’, although having them stand proper on their first observe didn’t make their job simple.
The orchestra additionally didn’t put a foot flawed. I spotlight the spectacular cello part’s introduction to the ‘Offertorio’. The orchestra (together with offstage trumpets) was usually at full cry, following Muti’s minute modifications in tempi and meticulous phrasing to the letter. It was fascinating (for lovers of previous devices) to identify a cimbasso within the brass part with its big bell going through forwards. (In fashionable performances a cimbasso usually replaces the predecessor of the tuba, the ophicleide – the cimbasso blends in higher with the trombones somewhat than listening to the tuba’s distinctive voice).
That leaves me to touch upon the conductor. Effectively, what can one say? The soloists emerged onto the stage at first of the efficiency to obtain their applause, and Muti appeared some – nearly indecent – whereas later, to obtain his rapturous welcome applause. At one level, a cougher within the stalls threatened to spoil the impact of a quiet part: Muti immediately turned in direction of him and growled visibly, to the nice amusement of some in my row – the previous authoritarian conductors are usually not fairly completed but. A big crowd of music-lovers gathered on the Artists’ Door within the hope of amassing an autograph.
It was not solely an enormous pleasure to attend this live performance, nevertheless it was additionally a privilege and definitely one for the report books.
John Rhodes
