Verdi’s Requiem

I went with a friend to see the Tucson Symphony Orchestra and Chorus perform Verdi’s Requiem on Sunday. It was amazing. It is a very emotionally intense piece, written by Giuseppe Verdi and first performed in 1874.

I took this photo about half an hour before it started, when most of the musicians were still backstage and the audience was just arriving. They didn’t allow pictures during the performance. We had front row balcony seats.

The program says, “Criticized for being overly dramatic, the Messa de Requiem stays true to Verdi’s operatic nature but did not shy away from older techniques including fugue and counterpoint in the manner of Bach.”

I am not sure what the last part of that sentence means, but I can attest that it is loud and dramatic. It required a full orchestra, a large chorus and four visiting soloists!

I’m not very knowledgeable about this kind of music, but I am very familiar with this particular piece because my parent’s had the record when I was a kid. I called it the “boom boom record” as a small child, and I loved it, and would frequently request that they play it for me.

I’ve never heard it performed live before and I was completely entranced by the show. It sounded exactly how I remembered from childhood except in full, real life instead of tinny sounds coming out of a 1960’s era record player. When the first notes filled the hall, I nearly started crying. I had to remind myself, firmly, that I didn’t have any tissue with me, therefore, I couldn’t cry.

It seemed to me the musicians did an excellent job, and my friend, who is far more knowledgeable than I, agreed they had done a great job with the piece. She was very glad I had invited her, and has invited me to go to an opera with her when the season starts back up again. I’ve never been to an opera, so that will be an experience!

Then I came home and bought cheap tickets to an all-women Guns ‘N Roses tribute band. Just so I don’t go getting too highbrow, I guess. And I spent most of yesterday listening to the moodiest of the grunge ever written (Mad Season and Temple of the Dog). Gotta keep it all balanced out.

It has recently been occurring to me that music is about the only thing in life that I like dramatic. Everything else, no drama please.

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