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Kelly Nassief, soprano
Marietta Simpson, mezzo-soprano
Scott Ramsay, tenor
Gustav Andreassen, bass
Kent Hatteberg, chorusmaster
Verdi’s grand Requiem Mass is an epic tribute from a man who was said, by his wife, to be a “very doubtful believer” in religion. While Verdi did attend church regularly, it was mainly to earn his living, as a young man, as the organist in his home town.
By the time that he penned his legendary Requiem, Giuseppe Verdi was widely known and heralded for his brilliance in the world of opera. Rigoletto, Il trovatore, and La traviata, to name a few, made Verdi the most fashionable composer in all Europe.
Coming twenty years after the early success of his operatic stardom, the Requiem’s origin began as a collaborative project with scores of composers to pay homage to Rossini who died in 1868. The effort collapsed under the weight of its disorganization, and it was in 1873, following the death of Alessandro Manzoni, that Verdi committed himself to compose the entire work once and for all.
While sincere in his desire to memorialize Manzoni, for whom he had great respect, Verdi was also aware of the commercial prospects for the Requiem. At the same time that he was negotiating with the city of Milan to underwrite the premiere and with the Church to allow women singers to appear, he was arranging publication and performance royalties. The premiere took place in May, 1874, at the Church of San Marco as part of a liturgy, but Verdi also arranged two concert performances at La Scala, which were greeted with great enthusiasm. In the year following the premiere, it was given all over Italy, in Paris, London, Vienna and even in America. The Requiem had become one of Verdi’s most popular compositions.
Verdi Messa da requiem
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