Sydney Philharmonia Choirs: Verdi's Requiem

Choral Singing / Sacred Music: Requiem

VERDI'S REQUIEM presented by the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs

Date: Saturday 20 May 2023 at 2pm
Venue: Sydney Opera House Concert Hall

 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs lifts the roof of the Sydney Opera House with Verdi’s Requiem – music’s most awesome mass for the dead. Like any of his operas, Verdi offers the full range emotions in his music – from dramatic terror to heart-melting serenity – and gives us a deeply personal expression of grief. In front of the powerful 350-voice Festival Chorus and Sydney Philhamonia Orchestra are four of Australia’s leading opera stars, all conducted by artistic and music director Brett Weymark.

Ten minutes into Verdi’s Requiem, the “Dies irae” (Day of Wrath) thunders through the hall, carrying all who hear it on a wave of terror as Verdi dials the drama up to 11. At the other extreme is the anguish of the weeping “Lacrymosa” and the gleaming serenity of the “Lux aeterna” (Light Eternal). Verdi has given us a musical expression of grief that’s both deeply intimate and supremely spectacular and that combination is what makes his Requiem one of the best-loved choral works in the repertoire.

 

Verdi’s Requiem might be funeral music – a mass for the dead – but its emotional impact, and the sheer drama of the music, is equal to a night at the opera. So if you love his operas (think Rigoletto, La Traviata, Aida…) join us to experience the genius of his Requiem with our biggest choir, the Festival Chorus, stars of the Australian opera stage and the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra in full force.

PROGRAM

Verdi's Requiem

ARTISTS

Brett Weymark conductor
Maija Kovalevska soprano
Deborah Humble mezzo-soprano
Diego Torre tenor
David Greco bass
Festival Chorus
Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra

 

PRE-CONCERT TALK

Come to the Northern Foyer from 1pm to hear 2MBS Fine Music presenter Ross Hayes speak about Verdi’s Requiem. This talk is made possible with the support of 2MBS Fine Music. Grab a drink at the bar and enjoy this free, 30-minute talk, with plenty of time to find your seat for the 2pm concert.

Seating is on the carpeted stairs in the Northern Foyer.
Access the Northern Foyer via the new tunnel from the Southern Foyer.

• Saturday 20 May: 1:15PM-1:45PM
• Concert Hall, Northern Foyer stairs

 

Reviews: 

Verdi’s Requiem: A concert review by Shirley Politzer. May 24, 2023 by Shirley Politzer.  "Supporting the wonderful soloists is the very capable Sydney Philharmonia Festival Chorus, which filled four boxes around the stage. They were able to use their voices successfully to create the mood required as well as sing in a fugal style or single-line melody. They were also a visual pleasure in how they sat and stood all together and held their folders-something I believe is as important as their singing.  Brett Weymark, artistic and music director of the Sydney Philharmonic Choirs and Orchestra, had full command of the 50 orchestra members, 330 odd choir surrounding him, and the four soloists, leaving nothing to chance." Accessed 25 MAy 2023.

VERDI’S REQUIEM WITH SYDNEY PHILHARMONIA CHOIRS. 5 Stars.  Sydney Arts Guide. Reviewed by Annabelle Drumm, 21 May 2023. "Lead by Artistic Director Brett Weymark, the Sydney Philharmonia Orchestra and combined choirs of 350 voices were out in full force. It’s a work that starkly highlights each area of the orchestra in their moments of magic and the musicians fully embraced each opportunity."  Accessed 22 May 2023.

Related Links:

Requiem (Verdi).  en.wikipedia.org

Verdi's Requiem (Messa de Requiem). Inspired Pen Web.

Video Credit:

2023 Verdi's Requiem 2.  Sydney Philharmonia Choirs.  Experience the drama and emotional power of Verdi’s Requiem, from the sky-shattering terror of the Dies Irae to the sublime, heart melting Lacrymosa. Four of Australia's leading opera stars and the 350+ voices of our Festival Chorus fill the Sydney Opera House Concert in this single matinee performance.  YouTube, accessed April 20, 2023.

 

Photo Credit:

 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs / Keith Saunders.

Resources:

Verdi's Requiem. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs. Accessed April 6, 2023 

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' 2023 Season Catalogue. 

 

Tickets:

Premium $129 | A $105 | B $85 | C $60 | D $45
Concessions $116 | A $92| B $75 | C $55 | D $41
Under 30 $30
A booking fee of $8.95 per transaction applies.

BOOK TICKETS HERE

COVID-19 SAFETY AT SPC CONCERTS

Up-to-date COVID guidelines will be available a few weeks before the concert. Sydney Philharmonia Choirs regularly update their guidelines based on health directives from NSW Government & the Sydney Opera House. 

(c) April 20, 2023. Tel.  Inspired Pen Web.  All rights reserved.

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Dvorak Requiem

CHORAL MUSIC / Sydney Philharmonia Choirs


Sydney Philharmonia Choirs presents:
DVORAK REQUIEM
Saturday,  21 September 2019, 8PM
Concert Hall, Sydney Opera House 

Free pre-concert talk in the Northern Foyer 45 minutes prior to the concert.
Sponsored by Fine Music FM.

(Note: This is the last concert of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Festival Chorus at the Sydney Opera House due to the major renovation of the Concert Hall, for completion 2022.)

Experience the moving drama of Antonin Dvorak's finest choral creation. In this concert, 350-voice Festival Chorus – the philosophical heart of the Sydney Philharmonia Choirs organisation – joins forces with the talented young musicians of the Sydney Youth Orchestra and some of Australia’s finest vocal soloists under the baton of Maestro Brett Weymark, Sydney Philharmonia Choirs' Artistic and Music Director. Don’t miss this rare opportunity!

Dvořák’s Requiem hasn’t appeared in Sydney Philharmonia Choirs programming since the 1980s. This ‘Mass for the Dead’ is generally regarded as his finest creation for voices and orchestra and over the course of an hour-and-a-half it takes musicians and listeners on a deeply moving journey of drama and reflection.

This requiem was commissioned by the Birmingham Festival in 1891, when Dvořák was already an established composer of international repute, although the New World Symphony and the Cello Concerto were still a few years away. The premiere was a huge success, prompting George Bernard Shaw to mock the English fondness for requiems: ‘the public loves everything connected with a funeral.’ But behind the sneer is a truth. Choirs and audiences really do love requiems – the catharsis, the drama and the beauty of contemplation. It’s as if through the shared experience of music, we can come to terms with the prospect of our own mortality.

Soloists:

Taryn Fiebig, Soprano
Fiona Campbell, Mezzo soprano
Andrew Goodwin, Tenor
Michael Honeyman, Baritone

Verdi's Requiem (Messa de Requiem)

 Classical Music / Sacred Music: Requiem

Verdi's Requiem is one of the most famous of the Catholic funeral mass. Requiems are traditionally a Roman Catholic mass to honour the dead. This work was composed by Giuseppe Verdi in memory of the Italian poet and novelist Alessandro Manzoni, who was profoundly admired by Verdi. It was first performed in Milan Cathedral on 22 May 1874 on the first anniversary of Manzoni's death.

Complete with thrilling symphonic score, virtuosic solo moments, and dramatic libretto, Verdi's Requiem tells of the fate of the living who fear death and beg for deliverance. 

Featured videos:

Leontyne Price sings "Libera me" from Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi.  La Scala Orchestra & Chorus.  Roberto Benaglio, Chorusmaster.  Herbert von Karajan, Conductor 1967. YouTube, uploaded by Addiobelpassato. Accessed April 20, 2023.  

Proms 2016 - Verdi's Requiem [Marin Alsop, Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment].  Youtube, uploaded by hollowchatter. Accessed May 22, 2020.  It's beautiful, the best performance I found at Youtube. The soloists in "Have mercy" bring out the passion in it. To listen and reflect on the message as the choir, soloists, and orchestra sing with such passion, connected by conductor Maestra Marin, is simply breathtaking. Beautiful. Divine!

 

Considered too operatic to be performed in a liturgical setting, it is usually given in concert form of around 90 minutes in length. Musicologist David Rosen calls it "probably the most frequently performed major choral work composed since the compilation of Mozart's Requiem" (Wiki)

The parts of a Verdi Requiem Mass include: 

• 1. Requiem
  • Introit (chorus)
  • Kyrie (soloists, chorus)
• 2. Dies irae
  • Dies irae (chorus)
  • Tuba mirum (chorus)
  • Mors stupebit (bass)
  • Liber scriptus (mezzo-soprano, chorus – chorus only in original version)
  • Quid sum miser (soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor)
  • Rex tremendae (soloists, chorus)
  • Recordare (soprano, mezzo-soprano)
  • Ingemisco (tenor)
  • Confutatis maledictis (bass, chorus)
  • Lacrymosa (soloists, chorus)
• 3. Offertory
  • Domine Jesu Christe (soloists)
  • Hostias (soloists)
• 4. Sanctus (double chorus)
• 5. Agnus Dei (soprano, mezzo-soprano, chorus)
• 6. Lux aeterna (mezzo-soprano, tenor, bass)
• 7. Libera me (soprano, chorus)
  • Libera me
  • Dies irae
  • Requiem aeternam
  • Libera me

Verdi's Requiem is a masterpiece and a testimony to Giuseppe Verdi's composing abilities outside of the field of opera he is most famous for. 

 

Resource:

Requiem (Verdi). en.wikipedia.org.   

(c) May 22, 2014. Updated April 20, 2023. Tel. Inspired Pen Web. All rights reserved.