Verdi: Messa da Requiem - Live at the Hollywood Bowl

When the revered writer Alessandro Manzoni died in 1873, Verdi was unable to bring himself to attend the funeral. Instead he composed his monumental Messa da Requiem in Manzonis memory and conducted its first performance on the first anniversary of the writers death. In addition to its profound spirituality, the work also brings together all the finest qualities familiar from Verdis operas, qualities that include endless melodic lines and powerful musico-dramatic effects. The present performance was recorded in Los Angeless legendary Hollywood Bowl in August 2013 and brought together three superstars from the world of music: the conductor Gustavo Dudamel, the tenor Vittorio Grigolo and the bass-baritone Ildebrando DArcangelo, all of them at the top of their form. It was an important and exceptional evening That experience involved a radical and wondrous rethinking of the Requiem on Dudamels part. (Los Angeles Times)