Giuseppe Verdi (1813-1901)
Messa da Requiem (1874)
Ljuba Kazarnovskaya (soprano), Luciana D’Intino (mezzo), Fernando de la Mora (tenor), Paul Plishka (bass)
Chorus and Orchestra of La Scala, Milan/Riccardo Muti
rec. live, October 1989 Grand Hall of the Moscow Conservatoire, USSR
Texts and translations not provided
Reviewed as downloaded WAV files
CRQ Editions CRQ641 [88]

The company of La Scala visited Moscow by invitation in October 1989, leaving in early November. This was exactly the same time as events in East Germany were coming to a climax leading to the fall of the Berlin wall. In Moscow, led by their principal conductor Riccardo Muti and ably assisted by Gianandrea Gavazzeni and Lorin Maazel, La Scala presented Adriana Lecouvreur, Così fan tutte, I Capuleti e i Montecchi at the Bolshoi, Turandot in the Kremlin and the Verdi Requiem at the Moscow Conservatory.

CRQ Editions, who have a wonderful catalogue of historic recordings, present the live recording of the Requiem in vivid, exciting sound, allowing us to eavesdrop on a special performance of a cherished work for the Milanese company conducted by a great advocate of the work at a time of great global significance.

Muti had recorded the piece twice by this time. His first was in London with the Philharmonia for EMI in 1979 but more recently the same record company had taped it at La Scala in June 1987 with a cast including Studer, Zajick, Pavarotti and Ramey. I have always felt this second version underrated by the establishment but I note Ralph Moore in his survey is happily more than lukewarm about it. Muti has always made a speciality of it and other versions exist from Salzburg, Chicago and most memorably from Munich (review).

Verdi’s Requiem is fiery and red-blooded in the best Italianate manner. Since Vatican II (1962-5), the Catholic Requiem Mass has changed significantly. The Dies irae which would have been obligatory in Verdi’s time has gone, along with the Libera me. The council specifically excised these parts as they put too much an emphasis on judgement, fear and despair. They have been replaced with texts based more on hope and the expectation of resurrection. Would Verdi have been inspired to write the work without the original text? Certainly Fauré’s famous version omits the Dies irae sequence and uses the serene texts of the Pie Jesu and the In Paradisum at the end. Verdi and Fauré are very different musicians however and their Requiems dissimilar.

In the Grand Hall of the legendary Moscow Conservatoire, the work begins softly on the cellos (a door slams shut in the rest of bar 2 annoyingly) and the choir sing the introit sotto voce. They move to their a cappella Te decet hymnus which comes over vividly, captured by the stage mics a little too well as evidenced by some peak overloading on the mastertape. The return of the chant is all sweetness, Muti responding to the dolce markings in the score. The Kyrie section brings in our quartet of soloists who mingle with the choir in this intricate section. The strings of La Scala articulate their semiquavers freshly (track 2: 2:24). I always find it strange that the Kyrie finishes with the soloists and choir singing the Christe eleison rather than the repeat of the Kyrie but I gather Verdi was never a stickler for detail, especially in theological matters.

The ten-part Dies irae lasts nearly 38 minutes in this performance and contains much of the best known music in the Requiem. Strings swirl, the brass section blaze and we hear a great bass drum before Muti does his thing with the Tuba mirum. I don’t know how Muti’s eight trumpets were positioned in the hall; the recording being live and made possibly without the aid of multiple microphones, it does not match the great sonic spectaculars of the catalogue, but it is certainly effective. St. Paul told his friends in Corinth how the end of times would be heralded: in the twinkling of an eye the trumpet will sound and the dead be raised from their graves incorruptible. Verdi is painting this scene in his Dies irae using the full palette of resources he had developed in the opera house those long years.

The soloists each play their part in Dies irae so now is the time to consider them and how they fare in this record. The Russian soprano Ljuba Kazarnovskaya had performed the piece at that summer’s Salzburg festival with the Berlin Philharmonic and Muti. She went on to sing roles at the Met and Covent Garden in the early 90s. Record collectors may remember her series of Tchaikovsky songs on Naxos. Her contribution to this account of Verdi’s Requiem is impressive. We first notice her lovely tones in the trio Quid sum miser which though led off by the mezzo gives a good opportunity for soprano and tenor to warm up too. Immediately her lightness and ability to float the notes is noticeable. She also meticulously follows the dynamics in the score. The gentle duet of Recordare is very tender, her voice blending well with mezzo Luciana D’Intino. Her floating of Huic ergo parce in the Lacrimosa is once again dolcissimo exactly as the score requests. In the magnificent Offertory section when she sings of the archangel Michael she reminds me of the voice from heaven in Don Carlo. In the Agnus Dei she once again forms an effective bond with D’Intino and the variations of the movement proceed charmingly. Muti in this movement lets the orchestra sing and the choir are angelic.

The real test for the soprano, though, as everyone knows, is the final huge Libera me. Kazarnovskaya is under pressure here and although she comes through it unscathed there are better accounts of this important final movement. Suitably agitated and chilling in Tremens, factus, she is gorgeous in the slow meditative section although she does scoop her last B flat  note and it is definitely not sung pppp. In the finale, though, she does struggle to soar over the massed fugal choirs in the manner of some of her more famous predecessors. I had detected a similar instance of underpower in the much earlier Rex tremendae,as she struggled to come across over the salva me cries. These things are important, but in the final reckoning the Russian singer gives a very satisfying account of herself and I can see why opera houses around the world at the time were keen to hire her.

The mezzo part in the Requiem is of huge importance and in this performance we hear the wonderful Italian Luciana D’Intino. Apart from the EMI labelled live performances from the Scala of Don Carlo with Muti and La Gioconda from Munich with Viotti, there is precious little of her in major roles represented on records. She was a superb artist whom I remember at Covent Garden as an unforgettable Amneris and whom I am happy to hear again on this disc.

In Liber scriptus in the Dies irae, she is steady and forthright. Her voice is rich and full throughout its range and has a resonance at the bottom that is impressive. She would have been about thirty at the time of this Moscow concert, so the bloom of youth is there too. D’Intino leads most of the ensembles, too, including the already mentioned Quid sum miser, where the bassoon principal of the orchestra also distinguishes himself. By the time we get to the Lacrimosa at the end of this huge section and into its sequel the Offertory, it is clear (to me anyway) that she is the stand-out vocalist of the quartet.

D’Intino’s final assignment in the piece is to lead the team again into the Lux aeterna. She does this in the grand manner Verdi must have wanted and which I imagine the first singer Maria Waldmann (also the first Amneris in the work’s Milan premiere) exemplified. The trio is written low for the mezzo and D’Intino’s rich dark colour is put to great effect.

Mexican tenor Fernando de la Mora appears also to have been neglected by the record companies. I can find a recital for WNO he made with Mackerras for Telarc but not too much else from the majors. He has a natural, open-throated style, an unforced delivery and he is touchingly tender in softer voice. His voice is not large and he does get a little swamped at times in ensemble but his Ingemisco is nice, albeit with a bit of a gear change before the first high B flat (the second is cleaner).

The best known soloist of the four is the bass Paul Plishka. Ralph Moore’s survey lists at least three versions where he takes the bass line and I agree with his assessment that the best is Mehta’s NYPO account from 1980. In Moscow he was 48 years old and very much the senior of the soloists. He is in good form. The slow march with bass drum accompaniment gives us our first real introduction to his voice which always had a bit of a wobble to it but is here well under control. Confutatis maledictis is assuredly delivered in noble style and he consistently brings an imposing voice to the ensembles. Reviewing this performance also gives me the opportunity to pay tribute to this legend of the opera stage who sadly died in February this year aged 83.

The musicians of La Scala instrumental and choral acquit themselves superbly throughout. It is a memorable performance that, whilst not eclipsing their other versions in the catalogue, is a worthy tribute to them and their devotion to this masterpiece. The singers as I have tried to make clear are well worth getting to know in this work too. CRQ Editions have worked hard on the sound and we have a nice open stereo sonic presentation that will not disappoint. 

I gather Muti will be back in London with the Philharmonia at the end of March 2025 with this work. At 83 years old he has lived with and pondered on it most of his life. I will not be at the concert but am grateful for the insights into Verdi’s Requiem he has prepared and left for us to enjoy both live and on record, which includes this one from behind the iron curtain back in those momentous times of 1989.

Philip Harrison

Availability: Bandcamp