[Met Performance] CID:267600



Verdi Requiem Mass
Metropolitan Opera House, Sat, February 20, 1982 Matinee Broadcast
Broadcast Matinee Broadcast





Verdi Requiem Mass (44)
Giuseppe Verdi
Soloist
Leontyne Price

Soloist
Florence Quivar

Soloist
Plácido Domingo

Soloist
John Cheek


Conductor
James Levine





Verdi Requiem Mass received one performance this season.
Available for streaming at Met Opera on Demand
Rebroadcast on Sirius Metropolitan Opera Radio
This performance was dedicated to the memory of Francis Robinson, who served the Metropolitan Opera for over three decades as tour director, chief of the press office and box office manager.

Review 1:

Review of Peter G. Davis in New York Magazine

There must be a hundred different ways of performing Verdi's “Requiem,” an impression possibly arising from its ubiquitous presence on the local concert scene and Verdi's ability to survive most any approach. James Levine conducted the “Requiem” at the Metropolitan Opera not long ago, and he predictably opted to emphasize the music's superheated operatic drama in a performance more notable for punching-bag energy and dynamic extremes than lyrical shape and inner intensity. No one could have been bored by Levine's aggressive enthusiasm, even if the results inevitably seemed a trifle superficial.


For many people, the Verdi “Requiem” stands or falls by its solo quartet, in this case a variable lineup consisting of Leontyne Price, Florence Quivar, Placido Domingo, and John Cheek. A last- minute replacement for Marilyn Horne, Quivar provided the most satisfying singing of the afternoon, her opulent mezzo-soprano never sounding more expressive or secure; why the Met does not make more use of her is a mystery. Price has long been a formidable exponent of the Verdi “Requiem,” but the great days appear to be over. When she could comfortably position her voluptuous voice, the old magic returned, but elsewhere there was an excessive amount of ugly scooping, booty tone, and ungainly register shifts. Even Domingo seemed a bit out of sorts, occasionally straying from pitch and straining for the top, Cheek sang stoutly, if rarely summoning up the commanding vocal presence a true Verdi bass should have.



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