Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Wednesday 26th August 2015
In a very busy week, the State Opera of South Australia is interspersing its performance of Faust with performances of
Verdi's Requiem. The Adelaide Symphony Orchestra and the State Opera Chorus are working hard this week, without a single night off. If they were tired from rehearsals and performances, though, one could not tell.
State Opera's multi-skilled CEO, Artistic Director, and Chorus Master of the State Opera Chorus, Timothy Sexton, conducted the performance and is to be highly commended for the wonderful rendition of this extremely complex and demanding work.
Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem begins with barely a whisper from the orchestra before the chorus quietly joins them, gradually increasing in volume. The cellos begin it for five bars pianissimo, con sordino (with mute), before being joined, after a minim rest, by the violins and violas and, two bars later after a second rest, by the basses. The chorus now joins them, the basses and tenors entering in that bar with the second pause, marked sotto voce, singing 'requiem' on repeated three notes, the basses on A and the tenors on E, echoed two bars later an octave higher by the altos and sopranos. Already, the influence of Verdi's magnificent Messa da Requiem, the Catholic Latin mass for the dead, takes hold of the senses. That combination of the softness of the sounds, and the rise from the cellos to the sopranos always gives one a feeling of being uplifted, of hope and, for the religious, a premonition of the salvation for the departed for whom the mass is being held.
By this time, too, we are already aware that this is not going be anything less than a totally committed performance from everybody involved. The sight of some of Adelaide's finest singers in the soloists, Teresa La Rocca (soprano), Elizabeth Campbell (alto), and Douglas McNicol (bass) boded well, and we were to soon discover that Diego Torre (tenor), making his debut appearance, would leave us hoping to see much more of him in the future.
The next section, the
Dies Irae, roars into life, strongly rhythmic, introducing the two bass drums, one large and the other huge, leading to that section, the
Tuba Miriam, in which the trumpets play from both sides of the auditorium, in an early version of surround sound. In this case, playing in front of the set for Faust, there are convenient balconies either side of the stage, each having two trumpeters, and a large crucifix stands behind the performers, reminding us that this is a liturgical work and, at the same time, being the opening set of Faust, reinforcing the idea that it is definitely operatic as well.
To go step by step through the Mass would only tell of the structure, and bore the reader with repeated praise of the performers, but it would convey nothing of the emotional impact of the performance. Even a recording cannot fully give that. It takes a live performance, and these are all too few and far between. A live performance of this standard is closer to once in a lifetime.
The brilliance of the eight-part fugue, sung by the double chorus in the
Sanctus, was inspiring, and every line clearly heard thanks to the superb balance between the parts. It was in the
Ingemisco, the tenor solo, that we got to hear the voice of Diego Torre, and it was instant admiration. This was not only due to his sensational voice, but also his engagement with the emotions within the music, which he conveyed with passion. He was not alone in this, of course because, as expected from past experience of their appearances, the other three also delivered wonderful performances. Teresa La Rocca's voice floated and soared joyously, Elizabeth Campbell added gravity to dramatic moments and Douglas McNicol brought great power to the fore.
Throughout the performance, the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra made the difficult, sound easy. Verdi's score is, in fact, extremely complex but, just like the vocals, he demands more than mere technical perfection. He expects that same understanding of the inner meaning of every part of the mass and its full expression from the musicians. That takes an orchestra of this quality to accomplish as thoroughly as we heard tonight.
Of course, being a choral work, a top flight chorus is essential, and Sexton has one in the State Opera Chorus, a good many of whom have sung principal roles from time to time. Their performance simply could not be faulted. The clarity, the balance and, most of all, the huge range of emotions and passion that has to be expressed, and is so done, makes this a very special concert indeed.
One cannot imagine what the first audience felt when Verdi broke the mould of the requiem, but we do know that some criticised it for being too operatic. Time has proved Verdi correct, with this being one of the best known and much-loved requiems.
Discussing it afterwards my guest and I agreed that, were we able, we would both have loved to attend the second performance and, as it happens, we said the same about the production of Faust after the performance that we attended on Saturday. If you have not made it to these performances yet, you owe it to yourself to do everything that you can to attend.
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