Customer Reviews

Verdi: Requiem

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I came to this recording with much lower expectations than I brought to the new Pappano release, which perhaps partly explains why I found myself enjoying it much more than I had expected. You can find wholly contradictory reviews of this live performance: my fellow Amazon reviewer the Santa Fe listener finds it tepidly "British" in its understatement and Davis' approach uninspired; another Amazon.uk reviewer, Mr Manning rightly complains about the unnatural closeness of the recording, which produces a constricted ambience and, most unfortunately of all, permits us to be constantly on the receiving end of Sir Colin's persistent grunts and groans - an all too prominent feature of all his recent recordings and a right royal pain of a distraction. The Amazon editorial review, on the other hand, writes, "This is one of the most driven things I've heard Davis do". So what is the truth of it? For my part, I found much of this performance really satisfying and certainly not so underpowered. It is true that the chorus sounds far from refined or homogeneous at times - occasionally even a bit ragged with too many individual voices obtruding from what should be an imposing mass of sound - and that there is altogether too much vibrato in the soloists' voices, but these features were probably exaggerated by the closeness of the miking and there are many compensations, not least the excellence of Scottish mezzo Karen Cargill, a last-minute replacement for Larissa Diadkova. I was not previously familiar with her voice, but she is quite a discovery: she has a rich, genuinely Verdian mezzo (not "light" at all, as ClassicalSource suggests) and is certainly far preferable in both timbre and emotional involvement to Pappano's Ganassi. Stuart Neill has a hefty tenor which he lightens effectively at key points, while Relyea's contribution is really distinguished if not as rich as some of his predecessors, such as Siepi or Ghiaurov. Christine Brewer's soprano proves to be a mixed blessing: her entry in the Offertorio on "Sed signifer Sanctus Michael" is magical and some notes are ideally floated, whereas on other, louder notes she becomes acidic. She is perhaps not a real Verdi soprano but her contribution certainly does not constitute a blot on the set even if she could ideally be more involved - and Harteros in the Pappano set is similarly cool, without quite Brewer's vocal distinction. Brewer certainly leaves a very positive impression with the beauty and security of her delivery of the final slow "Requiem" passage in the "Libera me". Finally, some love the way Davis has his chorus whisper at key points, others find it corny; I think it works - just about.

All in all, I can only suggest that you listen before you buy - although this is very cheap and worth the risk if you think you might like it. I do, even if this is not amongst my very favourite versions.

The pile of great Verdi Requiems on records is knee high, so I didn't expect the octogenarian Colin Davis to enter the top ranks. But I'm afraid he doesn't even make it to the middle. His new live version from the Barbican in London is painfully British -- careful, respectful, and half-powered. Clearly he hasn't heard the cliche that the Requiem is actually a great Verdi opera. This is the least operatic version I've ever heard, and the total absence of Italian players and singers is quite telling. The vocal soloists, who are as important as they would be in Aida or Il Trovatore, sing well enough under live conditions, but even if everything were note perfect, there's only a dash of Italian passion.

Bass John Relyea at least makes a brave stab at sounding like Ezio Pinza or Cesare Siepi. The best known of the quartet, chrsitine Brewer, simply isn't a Verdi soprano. Her 'Libra me' is neither a grand diva or desperate supplicant before God. The chorus sings well, but Davis has them use an exaggerated stage whisper in soft passages, as in the 'Libera me' - the effect is corny and melodramatic. Davis himself doesn't seem fired up by the music, which can be driven to almost hysterical extremes and still succeed. His age doesn't cause him to dawdle -- the Dies illa is strong and fervent -- but most of the movements lack emotional involvement.

Almost simultaneously with this release EMI is bringing out its own Verdi Requiem with Antonio Pappano and his Santa Cecilia orchestra and chorus in Rome. Let's see if they win on the home field.