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Prom 61,  Verdi Requiem: Soloists, BBC Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus, Crouch End Festival Chorus, Jiři Bělohlávek, cond. Royal Albert Hall, London, 31.8.2008. (ED)


Big choral works tend to be the forte of the Proms season in my experience and they do not come much bigger than the Verdi Requiem. Of course the composer himself made quite a stir when he conducted the UK premiere at the Royal Albert Hall in 1875, probably due to the sheer novelty value of the work at the time. However, of the four performances I have heard in the hall, this one sticks in the mind as of momentary interest, with some fine qualities, yet hardly the moving experience it might have been.

This Requiem can be played reverentially as a Mass or steered into quasi-operatic territory: the fundamental interpretative decision that the conductor has to make, which shapes the reading he gives.  Jiři Bělohlávek announced from the start that his approach was to be sober and with an emphasis of textural clarity rather than losing itself in the grandiose excitement of the moment. The BBC Symphony Orchestra followed his lead to give a performance that contained much of interest and note amongst the parts, such as the cello introduction at the very beginning of the work. Elsewhere however, such as in the double chorus Sanctus, much of the energy in the writing was dissipated through either slightly unusual tempo choices or an urge for too much clarity from the players and the massed BBC and Crouch End Festival choral forces. A slight pity also that Bělohlávek lingered fractionally too long between the Kyrie and Dies irae, when more urgency might have increased the drama within an otherwise creditable performance.

Fortunately the quartet of soloists produced some excellent singing, which given the extent of their involvement in the work is much needed. Michelle DeYoung, a late substitution for Olga Borodina, was fully committed to the performance and although her tone has hardened a little recently,  she shaded the line with affection and used careful placing of the voice at all times. Joseph Calleja’s tenor had some of the most authentic Italianate singing produced by a non-Italian I have heard for some time. The Hostias floated gloriously and the Ingemisco used his head voice in a manner that recalled the glory days of Caruso in this music. Ildebrado A’Arcangelo’s bass came across as rather small-scale by comparison, though his singing was very aware of Verdian style. A pity that the impact of the Confutatis maledictis was not what it could have been, though here also Bělohlávek was partly to blame for strangely dissipating the terror that is to be heard in orchestral accompaniment. The solo trio already mentioned arguably came together best in the Lux aeterna, with each matching one another in feeling for words and scale of delivery. Finest of all though was soprano Violeta Urmana, who managed to shade down what is often a formidable instrument of great power with sensitivity to sing with real feeling. The Agnus Dei was blended well against DeYoung’s mezzo, before finally bring the work to a fitting close with not a little urgency in the Libera me.

Evan Dickerson


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