Verdi's Requiem is one of the all-time great choral works, stirring and moving with magnificent music. This performance was a disappointment though, a long way from awful but it didn't bowl me over in the way the Bernstein, Abbado and especially Karajan DVD performances did. There are many things to like. The venue of Basilica Di San Marco looks fantastic, with its insides looking so inviting and opulent. The performance is very nicely shot as well. The orchestra's dramatic yet nuanced playing is very well suited to the music, and their phrasing and musicality are also great. The chorus sing vibrantly and beautifully, singing and communicating with great commitment.
And I cannot fault the soloists either. Anna Smirnova- of the soloists she was also the one who knew her music, and everybody else's for that matter too, the most- was the most impressive especially in Liber Scriptus, she sings powerfully and with great resonance to her firm mezzo, like Veasey, Barcellona and particularly Cossotto before her. Norma Fantini has a gleaming beauty to her voice and her high notes soar beautifully over the orchestra and chorus in the Libera Me. Of the sopranos before her, Price for Karajan was the most successful in bringing this over.
Francesco Meli's tone has an appealing bright ring, he has crystal clear enunciation and his lyrical style is well suited for the Ingemisco. I prefer Pavarotti- my favourite of the Verdi Requiem tenors on DVD- and Domingo's contributions, but I place him above Alagna. Rafal Siwek's bass voice is controlled, rounded and sturdy as a rock. He may just lack the thunderous quality that Ghiaurov brings to Confutatis or the chilling authority that Talvela on record brings to Mors Stupebit, but he sings both very well and not without those qualities.
The performance is not without its hindrances sadly. The acoustics are so echoey and so reverberant that ensembles, particularly in the Sanctus, lack tightness. Blending's also an issue, again probably to do with acoustics, but the orchestra did seem to overpower the chorus too much in terms of volume. What was really disappointing was Lorin Maazel's conducting, which I found tempo-wise uneven and emotionless(notice how stern and almost detached he was throughout). There was the odd time where he did get it right, such as the Tuba Mirum which was very stirring, but Dies Irae was too erratic and the fugue section of Libera Me was taken at a dirge-like speed which stripped it of the uplifting feeling you want. Of the four DVD conductors, while I am very fond of Karajan, it's Abbado who impressed me most.
All in all, both impressive and uneven. Definitely worth the viewing but I personally put the Bernstein, Abbado and Karajan performances above it by some considerable distance. 6/10 Bethany Cox
And I cannot fault the soloists either. Anna Smirnova- of the soloists she was also the one who knew her music, and everybody else's for that matter too, the most- was the most impressive especially in Liber Scriptus, she sings powerfully and with great resonance to her firm mezzo, like Veasey, Barcellona and particularly Cossotto before her. Norma Fantini has a gleaming beauty to her voice and her high notes soar beautifully over the orchestra and chorus in the Libera Me. Of the sopranos before her, Price for Karajan was the most successful in bringing this over.
Francesco Meli's tone has an appealing bright ring, he has crystal clear enunciation and his lyrical style is well suited for the Ingemisco. I prefer Pavarotti- my favourite of the Verdi Requiem tenors on DVD- and Domingo's contributions, but I place him above Alagna. Rafal Siwek's bass voice is controlled, rounded and sturdy as a rock. He may just lack the thunderous quality that Ghiaurov brings to Confutatis or the chilling authority that Talvela on record brings to Mors Stupebit, but he sings both very well and not without those qualities.
The performance is not without its hindrances sadly. The acoustics are so echoey and so reverberant that ensembles, particularly in the Sanctus, lack tightness. Blending's also an issue, again probably to do with acoustics, but the orchestra did seem to overpower the chorus too much in terms of volume. What was really disappointing was Lorin Maazel's conducting, which I found tempo-wise uneven and emotionless(notice how stern and almost detached he was throughout). There was the odd time where he did get it right, such as the Tuba Mirum which was very stirring, but Dies Irae was too erratic and the fugue section of Libera Me was taken at a dirge-like speed which stripped it of the uplifting feeling you want. Of the four DVD conductors, while I am very fond of Karajan, it's Abbado who impressed me most.
All in all, both impressive and uneven. Definitely worth the viewing but I personally put the Bernstein, Abbado and Karajan performances above it by some considerable distance. 6/10 Bethany Cox