Verdi’s Requiem

When Verdi heard that his idol, the writer Alessandro Manzoni, had passed away, he suffered such grief that he was unable to attend the funeral in the church of San Marco in Milan. But Verdi was not the only person grieving; Manzoni’s writing, not least his novel “The Betrothed”, had laid the foundation for modern Italian, much like Dante Alighieri’s “Divine Comedy” influenced the early emergence of the language in the 1300s. Manzoni’s novel also became a symbol for the unification of Italy, which was finalized only two years before he died.

Five years earlier, Rossini had passed away and Verdi, who admired his older colleague, initiated a project of collaboration between Italian composers, through which they would jointly create a requiem in Rossini’s honour. Even though Verdi himself and twelve other composers had contributed to the finished requiem, the project suffered a series of setbacks and the première never took place. Spurred by his grief following Manzoni’s passing, Verdi contacted the Mayor of Milan and offered to write a requiem himself to honour Manzoni’s memory. The following year, on the anniversary of his death, it was first performed in the Church of San Marco, where the funeral had also been held.

Verdi’s aptitude for musical drama is clear from the very first movement of Messa da Requiem, or Messa per Manzoni as it has also been known. Throughout the entire piece, Verdi portrays the emotional journey from loss and longing, through paralysing and relentless fear of Judgment Day, to mankind’s redemption and eternal peace, with the same ingenuity as in his operas. In fact, some called his requiem ”one of Verdi’s best operas”. Verdi’s Requiem, including Mozart’s, are among the most performed and beloved major choral works.

The link to the world of opera is made even clearer with the star-studded quartet of soloists. They are all frequent performers at the Royal Swedish Opera, where internationally acclaimed conductor Domingo Hindoyan is about to give Verdi’s Aida with, among others, this concert’s alto soloist, Miriam Treichl. It is also our great pleasure to welcome the Göteborg Opera Chorus for the first time to the Baltic Sea Festival!

No bus to Berwaldhallen from Stockholm City –
Busline 69 is shortened and runs Karlaplan – Kaknästornet / Blockhusudden. For more information, please visit www.sl.se/en/

FESTIVAL OFFER (Östersjöklippet)
With the Baltic Sea Festival Offer (Östersjöklippet), you get three different levels at a discount – 10, 15 and 20% off the regular fare depending on whether you buy three, four or five different concerts at the same time.
TO ’ÖSTERSJÖKLIPPET’

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