Verdi Requiem, presented by the Pensacola Symphony Orcehstra
With soaring moments of joy and dramatic fanfare, Verdi’s Requiem is one of the most treasured choral works of all time. In a special artistic collaboration, the orchestra will join forces with four celebrated soloists and more than 120 voices from The Hattiesburg Choral Union for Verdi’s Requiem Mass, a monumental masterpiece of joy, hope, and passion.
About Verdi Requiem
Music is unmatched in its ability to express feelings, and few things inspire deeper feelings than religious faith. The earliest evidence of musical composition shows pieces devoted to religious settings, and nearly every significant composer, from Bach to Stravinsky, has felt compelled to express feelings of faith through music. Giuseppe Verdi, the great Italian opera composer, had an uneasy relationship with Catholicism, to say the least, but he knew drama when he saw it. He applied his operatic tool kit to the Latin Mass for the Dead, and his keen sense of theatre lays bare our deepest feelings about death.
Inspired by the death of the great Italian poet Manzoni, Verdi’s Requiem is a rollercoaster of emotion, from angelic soothing to full-on fire and brimstone. Near the very end, in a state of emotional exhaustion, Verdi returns to the opening music, “Grant them eternal rest, Oh Lord.” The chorus, with no orchestral accompaniment, intones the soothing chords, while the soprano solo floats above with ethereal intensity. It is—quite simply—a life-changing experience.
Verdi Requiem
- Saturday, February 25, 7:30 p.m.
- Saenger Theatre
Peter Rubardt, Conductor
Danielle Talamantes, Soprano
Kirstin Chávez, Mezzo-Soprano
Jonathan Yarrington, Tenor
Kevin Short, Bass-Baritone
The Hattiesburg Choral Union
Dr. Gregory Fuller, The University of Southern Mississippi Director of Choral Activities
Dr. Jonathan Kilgore, The University of Southern Mississippi Associate Director of Choral Activities