An opportunity to see Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem" is an event that music lovers should not let slip from their finger tips. Also, if you want a strong message on how war tears people apart on the inside and outside, then look no further. Benjamin Britten was waiting for an opportunity to mourn the spoils of war, and he does not hesitate in this work, which is one of the most important of the twentieth century. Britten was a pacifist through and through. War clearly hit his insides very hard, and he uses the interval of the tritone to alert the listener to his ill feelings about war. Also, the ending has this peaceful tranquility to it, until Britten presents the unsettling resolution to F major from the chorus, and ends the piece there. It is a monumental work throughout with a very powerful message.
Every field needs strong leaders, whether it be in the work force, sports, volunteer work or the arts. The arts are suffering, so us artists need leaders like the conductor Gianandrea Noseda. Mr. Noseda is an awesome leader who showed his leadership skills by conducting an extraordinary performance of Benjamin Britten's "War Requiem" at Avery Fischer Hall earlier this afternoon. Maestro Noseda was joined by soprano, Sabina Cvilak, tenor, Ian Bostridge, baritone, Simon Keenlyside, the London Symphony Orchestra and chorus and the American Boychoir. This performance blew me away from the very beginning until the very final chord. Noseda conducted like a master, and was very clear in his gestures and pacing. The London Symphony chorus did an impeccable job in important tuning moments. This was especially true in the chilling resolutions to F major at the end of several of the movements. The audience showed their appreciation when the chorus was acknowledged by Maestro Noseda. The performances by Ian Bostridge and Simon Keenlyside were great works of art on both accounts. They are two artists, and most of all they are sophisticated and humble human beings who know how to give to the world through their art. Their accounts of Wilfred Owen's poetry were absolutely chilling. Both artists are very intelligent, and made every word mean something. Sabina Cvivalak is a soprano from Slovenia who I had not heard of until today. She has a full lyric soprano which carried well in Avery Fischer. But is the soprano solo in this work a lyric? I would say no. It should be a spinto or light dramatic soprano in my opinion. Ms. Cvivalak's lower register was a little underpowered for my taste. But in all fairness, the vocal writing for the soprano is less even than for the other two voices. Benjamin Britten challenges every single performer in this work whether it be the orchestra, soloists, chorus, boychoir or the conductor. The American Boychoir sang from backstage in this performance. The American Boychoir did a good job serving as the angels from above. Although their sound had a little bit of a lack of balance with individual voices sticking out. The choir does have a very good sense of rhythm though. The rhythmic energy was one of the strongest aspects of this performance. Mr. Noseda is very demanding about details in rehearsal. I remember being in Verbier, Switzerland and singing in the chorus of Puccini's "Tosca" under his direction. I was in awe of his genius in rehearsal, but he sure was tough. He demanded the best out of each performer, and he knew how to get it. His apparent tough demeneur was there, but underneath I saw a gentle and sensitive soul, and both of those characteristics came out in his leadership today. His sense of passion and commitment intertwined with precision worked very well this afternoon. I thank the powers that be for bringing the arts leaders like Gianandrea Noseda.
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