Joe Green's Blues

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

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Who: The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus conducted by Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos
What: Verdi: Messa da Requiem
When: Friday and Saturday, March 7 and 8, 2014
Where: Powell Symphony Hall

[Learn more about the music with the symphony program notes and my preview article.]

The text of the Roman Catholic Requiem Mass, with its apocalyptic images of death and redemption, has inspired composers to produce some of their most profound and idiosyncratic work. The Italian operatic master Giuseppe Verdi, while so indifferent to religion that he was effectively an agnostic, was no exception. His 1874 "Messa da Requiem," inspired by the deaths of Rossini and the Italian poet and patriot Alessandro Manzoni, overflows with brilliantly theatrical moments, from the hair-raising Dies Irae to the heartfelt Recordare and epic Libera Me. A good performance should not spare the drama.

The Verdi "Requiem" Friday night by the orchestra, chorus, and soloists under the baton of guest conductor Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos wasn't just good, it was great. It was passionate, theatrical, moving, and incredibly powerful in every possible way.

The opening Requiem began so softly that it was nearly inaudible, which made the forte "Te decet hymnus" that much more powerful. The Dies Irae was appropriately electrifying, as was the Tuba mirum, with the four offstage trumpets placed in pairs house left and right, just behind the dress circle boxes. That made for a potent stereo effect for those of us in the dress circle; in the boxes they got surround.

Angel Blue

The celebration of the Sanctus was glorious, the Lux aeterna shimmered with celestial light, and the final Libera me, with its gripping dramatic arc preceding from terror to eternal peace (after a final glimpse of the "day of wrath"), brought this near-perfect "Requiem" to moving conclusion. The standing ovation was quick and unanimous.

Soloists Angel Blue (soprano) Julia Gertseva (mezzo-soprano), Aquiles Machado (tenor), and Riccardo Zanellato (bass) found every ounce of operatic intent in this music. These were authoritatively sung and, more importantly, brilliantly acted interpretations. The soloists do most of the emotional heavy lifting in the "Requiem," so their work can make or break the production overall. These four definitely made it.

Julia Gertseva

In "Liber scriptus proferetur" ("The written book shall be brought forth"), Ms. Gertseva made effective dramatic use of her score, closing it and singing from memory—essentially using it as a prop for the Book of Judgement described in the text. She has many other compelling moments throughout the evening, as well, especially when singing with Ms. Blue. At times the two sang almost as one, often swaying together in response to the emotion of the music.

For her part, Ms. Blue demonstrated that the "shining and agile upper register, smoky middle register, and beautiful timbre" described in her program bio were more factual reporting than hype. There was an impressive body and depth to her voice throughout its range that served her well, especially in the Libera me.

Mr. Machado's entrance on "Hostias et preces tibi, Domine" ("A sacrifice of praise and prayer, O Lord") was ethereally beautiful while his "Ingemisco tumquam reus" ("I groan, as one who is accursed") ringing and heartfelt. His voice was uniformly clear and focused.

Aquiles Machado

Mr. Zanellato gave us a "Mors stupebit et natura" ("Death shall stun and nature quake") filled with menace and a vivid "Confutatis maledictis," recounting how "the wicked have been confounded, doomed to devouring flames." His voice had a power basses sometimes lack, able to project even that low A at the end of "Mors stupebit."

The orchestra played impeccably, as it so often does. The focus is on the vocal soloists and chorus in the "Requiem," of course, but even so Verdi has provided some nifty little instrumental moments here and there. The plaintive bassoon solo that accompanies the despairing plea for mercy of "Quid sum miser," for example, was touchingly done by Andrew Cuneo. The flute trio (Mark Sparks, Jennifer Nitchman, and Ann Choomack) that accompanies the soprano and mezzo early in the Agnus Dei was a thing of beauty as well. The brass section performed heroically (there's no other word for it) throughout, as did Shannon Wood on tympani and John Kasica on the two massive bass drums.

Amy Kaiser's chorus was, as always, a model of power and precision.

Riccardo Zanellato

Mr. Frühbeck de Burgos conducted all this without a score (and, at one puzzling point, without a baton) and with the assurance of someone who has thoroughly internalized this music and made it his own. He's looking a bit frail these days (health issues in recent years have forced him to cancel some concert appearances) but still cuts a magisterial figure on the podium. His conducting style favored small and precise gestures, but aside from what looked like an inadequately cued choral entrance at one point, there was nothing hesitant or—for that matter—small-scale about this performance. This was a full-blooded, impeccably shaped "Requiem" that reminded me of Solti's 1977 recording with the Chicago Symphony (my personal touchstone for this work).

Next at Powell Hall: Serious stuff takes a holiday at George Daugherty conducts his the orchestra for "Bugs Bunny at the Symphony II" Saturday and Sunday, March 15 and 16. The regular season resumes when David Robertson conducts the orchestra and violin soloist Gil Shaham in Marshall's Bright Kingdoms, Korngold's Violin Concerto, and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9, "From the New World"on Friday at 10:30 AM and at 8 PM, and Saturday at 8 PM March 21 and 22. For more information: stlsymphony.org.

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

Requiem for a heavyweight

Portrait of Giuseppe Verdi
by Giovanni Boldini, 1886

There's only one work on the St. Louis Symphony program this weekend, but it's a big one: the "Messa da Requiem" (Requiem Mass) by that giant of Italian opera, Giuseppe Verdi.

If you haven't heard Verdi's "Requiem" before, you might think a setting of the traditional Latin mass for the dead would be a somber (not to say dreary) business, steeped in religiosity. You'd be completely wrong.

To begin with, Verdi wasn't all that religious. Although raised Roman Catholic, he had little patience with clerical arrogance. “Stay away from priests," he once warned his cousin Angiolo Cararra Verdi. “For some virtuous people," noted Verdi's second wife, Giuseppina Strepponi (quoted in "Verdi: A Biography" by Mary Jane Phillips-Matz, 1993), "a belief in God is necessary. Others, equally perfect, while observing every precept of the highest moral code, are happier believing in nothing.” She saw her husband as an example of the latter.

Besides Verdi was, first and foremost, a man of the theatre. So his "Requiem" is overtly and profoundly theatrical. When conductor and music critic Hans von Bülow, after a quick glance at the score before the work's Milan premiere, described it as Verdi's "latest opera, though in ecclesiastical vestments," he thought he was being snarky and dismissive. He was, in fact, pointing out the work's real strength, even if he was too clueless to notice it.

When, for example, Verdi depicts Judgment Day in the "Dies Irae" section, he uses the full orchestra and chorus complete with an expanded brass section (including four extra trumpets placed strategically around the hall for surround sound) and great whacks on the bass drum with the dynamic marking ffff (which effectively translates as "as loud as possible"). It really does sound like the end of the world. When the mezzo and tenor sing "Quid sum miser, tunc dicturus?" ("What shall I, a poor sinner, say?") they're echoed by a plaintive rising figure on the bassoon. The "Lux aeterna" section, depicting the shining light of salvation, begins with a shimmering melody in the violins.

And so it goes, one completely right dramatic gesture after another, for a bit over eighty minutes. "It is theatrical," write Brockway and Weinstock in "Men of Music," "full-bodied, noisy, sweepingly melodic, more like a sincere and impulsive paean than anything else. Some sections are catchy and even alluring, but only professional Protestants could deplore the high spirits of this Requiem Mass. In judging it, we must enter into the Latin temper, and forget Bach and all such solemn fellows. We can then admit that the 'Manzoni' Requiem is magnificent.

Alessandro Manzoni

Oh, yeah: Manzoni. Alessandro Manzoni was a celebrated poet, author, and (like Verdi) a strong supporter of the political movement known as the Risorgimento, which had as its goal the independence and unification of Italy. He was one of Verdi's two personal heroes (Rossini was the other). "I esteem and admire you," he once wrote to Manzoni, "as much as one can esteem and admire anyone on this earth, both as man and a true honor of our country so continually troubled. You are a saint, Don Alessandro!" When Manzoni died on May 22, 1873, Verdi was determined to memorialize him with a requiem mass, to be performed on the first anniversary of the great man's death.

Verdi began work on the "Requiem" in Paris on June 25, 1873 and finally completed it back home in Italy on April 10, 1874. Rehearsals for the Milan premiere began in May and the piece had its first performance, as scheduled, on May 22, 1874 with Verdi himself conducting.

In Italy, at least, it was a massive hit. The Italian public loved Verdi to begin with, and they were not disappointed with his latest work. Others had sharply differing opinions. Brahms thought it a work of genius. Wagner dismissed it. They loved it in Vienna but were indifferent in London. Personally, I agree with George Bernard Shaw (cited in Philip Huscher's program notes for the Chicago Symphony) who said that none of Verdi's works would prove to be as enduring as the "Requiem."

Manzoni's funeral procession in Milan
Engraving for The Graphic, 1873

Conducting the symphony, chorus, and soloists will be a great man in his own right: Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos. “Frühbeck is one of the few remaining conductors of the old school," says symphony cellist Bjorn Ranheim in the program notes. "He commands such power and respect on the podium. When I say ‘old school,' think of Toscanini, the old maestro, all powerful. It's all a sense of how one carries oneself—supreme confidence combined with history, knowing not only the piece like the back of his hand, but knowing how to utilize the symphony orchestra as an instrument." I might add that for those of us who started collecting classical LPs in the 1960s, the Frühbeck de Burgos name is a familiar one from many an LP jacket, especially recordings of the work of de Falla, Albéniz, Rodrigo, and other Spanish masters. This will be my first opportunity to see him conduct live, and I'm looking forward to it.

The essentials: Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducts The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Verdi's "Requiem." Vocal soloists are Angel Blue (soprano) Julia Gertseva (mezzo-soprano), Aquiles Machado (tenor), and Riccardo Zanellato (bass). Performances take place on Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, March 7 and 8, at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. For more information: stlsymphony.org. The Saturday performance will be broadcast live on St. Louis Public Radio, 90.7 FM and HD 1 as well as via live Internet stream at the station web site. 

This article originally appeared at 88.1 KDHX, where Chuck Lavazzi is the senior performing arts critic.

St. Louis classical calendar for the week of March 3, 2014

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McKendree College presents classical pianist Valentina Igoshina on Wednesday, March 5, at 7:30 PM. "The modern-day classical pianist has performed as a soloist on many of the grand concert stages of the world to consistent critical acclaim. The Bryansk, Russia native is a graduate of the Tchaikovsky Conservatory in Moscow. She has won numerous prizes at several international competitions, including first place at the Rubinstein Competition in Poland (1993) and the Sergei Rachmaninov International Piano Competition in Moscow (1997)." The concert takes place in the Hettenhausen Center for the Arts on the college campus in Lebanon, IL. For more information: thehett.com.

The St. Louis Art Museum presents Metropolitan Opera Live at SLAM: Borodin's Prince Igor on Saturday, March 8, at 11:5 AM. The live digital HD video broadcast from New York takes place in The Farrell Auditorium at the Art Museum in Forest Park. For more information: slam.org.

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos conducts The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in Verdi's Requiem. Vocal soloists are Angel Blue (soprano) Julia Gertseva (mezzo-soprano), Aquiles Machado (tenor), and Riccardo Zanellato (bass). Performances take place on Friday and Saturday at 8 PM, March 7 and 8, at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. "From musical outbursts of brute force to moments of peaceful tranquility, Verdi's Requiem explores the complex relationship between humanity and God, depicting a wide spectrum of human emotions from anger to mourning to serenity. Celebrated for his operas, Verdi combines the unimaginable sweep and grandeur of opera into his Requiem as a somber and spiritual work certain to stir your soul." For more information: stlsymphony.org.

Jacomo Bairos conducts The St. Louis Symphony Orchestra with narrator Peter Seymour in Choose Your Symphonic Adventure on Sunday, March 9, at 3 PM at Powell Symphony Hall, 718 North Grand. "Be part of this interactive fun-filled journey through the history of classical music where YOU pick the program! Known for his work with Project Trio, Peter Seymour leads the audience through this quest, featuring the works of Mozart, Beethoven, Bach and more. You can't take a wrong turn!" For more information: stlsymphony.org.

The Tavern of Fine Arts presents The Arianna String Quartet on Tuesday, March 4, at 7:30 PM. The Tavern of Fine Arts is at 313 Belt in the Debaliviere Place neighborhood. For more information: tavern-of-fine-arts.blogspot.com.

Winter Opera St. Louis presents Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor Friday at 8 PM and Sunday at 3 PM, March 7 and 9. Performances take place at The Skip Viragh Center for the Arts at Chaminade College Preparatory School, 425 S. Lindbergh. The opera is sung in Italian with project English supertitles. For more information, visit winteroperastl.org.