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Verdi,  Requiem: Barbara Frittoli (soprano), Olga Borodina (mezzo soprano), Piotr Beczala (tenor), Ildar Abdrazakov (bass), Orchestra and Chorus of the ROH, Antonio Pappano, Birmingham Symphony Hall, 20.3.2009 (GR)


Antonio Pappano has had many rave reviews in recent times – this deserves to be one of them. Many such plaudits stem from the way his enthusiasm is transmitted to those around him. This was clearly evident when the Musical Director of the Royal Opera House brought his Orchestra and Chorus together with some very distinguished soloists to Birmingham Symphony Hall for Verdi’s Messa da Requiem. Pappano’s trade is making the music fit the words and on this evidence not just for the opera stage. Mind you the score of Verdi’s memorial to his political idol Alessandro Manzoni generates its own sense of drama and excitement, a passion that Pappano reproduced in this concert. What is it about the energy levels of conductors? This maestro was still pumped up after an uninterrupted ninety minutes of strenuous work out!

The opening Requiem Aeternam began reverently enough with orchestra and chorus on identical wavelengths, broadcasting their supplications from the same hymnbook. The Kyrie eleison gave us our first taste of the soloists, with tenor Piotr Beczala leading the way. Having caught up with (and been impressed by) his Edgardo from Donizetti’s Lucia da Lammermoor on one of the Met’s ‘big screen’ transmissions this year, I was eager to hear him in the flesh. This Polish lyric tenor was warm and sufficiently Italianate to be an ideal choice for the Requiem part. Having relatively recently made it into the top flight I hope he remains there for years to come. Successive repetitions of the Kyrie introduced the other soloists – the scene was set.

However, nothing prepares you for that first blast of the Dies Irae. It came with the force of a tsunami: the fifty strong ROH chorus sounded more like a hundred; why none of the violin players broke a string was a bombshell; the big bass drum tested the foundations; the brass blasted a terrifying picture of the Day of Judgement. The ensuing silence was deafening, making the vision of death in Mors stupebit from the bass Ildar Abdrazakov even more stunning. Mezzo Olga Borodina in Liber scriptus was as commanding and solid as ever, delivering her message with a stately even tone and an impression of Russian royalty. In such august company the heavens muted their subsequent Dies Irae. As the text started to get personal, Borodina asked Quid sum miser but the bassoon obbligato answered her question with one of her own. When soprano Barbara Frittoli joined Borodina for the sensitive Recordare duet the result was breath taking. Beczala’s Ingemisco underlined his cultivated tones taking the B^b at in parte dextra in his stride. Pappano coaxed a typical Verdian melody from a sonorous oboe; he was in operatic mode. It was infectious and spread into Abdrazakov’s forceful Confutatis, all too brief as the anger returns. Verdi was never one to let go of a good tune, and a variation of the previous themes emerged during the quartet.

The Offertorio demonstrated what the evening was all about – ensemble singing and great melodies. After the tender opening duet from Beczala and Borodina, Abdrazakov made it a poignant trio only to be interrupted by Frittoli’s entry (I can still hear that single extended note); it was all sweetness and light. Beczala’s Hostias rang clear and true, the other three soloists joining in a prayer whose affect was at times both fervent and compassionate.

The trumpets rang out for the Sanctus and brought in the ROH Choir for the celebrations, sounding as if they were off to the races. This was in vivid contrast to the following Agnus Dei; the unaccompanied opening from Frittoli and Borodina singing in octaves was true to the text and invoked the mood of eternal rest.

Let there be light. Yes, but the light of Lux Aeterna was but a glimmer from Borodina as the dark chords of the lower woodwind began to dominate. I thought that Abdrazakov then gave his finest contribution of the night; Pappano picks the best and gets the best out of them.

The Libera Me began at a cracking tempo. This final section belongs to the soprano and Frittoli made it her own. The only soloist without a score in front of her, we had the first signs of animation from Frittoli. It came as bit of a surprise considering what had gone before, but it seemed right to me, particularly at Tremens factus. The choir gave a few more Dies Irae, another wave of sound that dissolved into Requiem Aeternam. As the orchestra fell silent, Frittoli had only the choir for company; this was my tear jerking moment. Even when the orchestra joined in Frittoli soared above everything – surely this was one soul who would be saved.

What a send off Verdi composed for Manzoni. At the time, Wagnerian Hans von Bülow jibed that it was ‘an opera in ecclesiastical dress’, words that must have later haunted him. The performance of Pappano and company gave us one hell of a wake!

Geoff Read


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