Muti conducts Verdi’s Requiem

Programme

Riccardo Muti, former Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia, returns to London to conduct Verdi’s roof-raising Requiem.

Verdi poured all his skill in depicting the extremes of human emotion into his Requiem. There is violence in the ‘Dies Irae’, power and grandeur in the ‘Tuba Mirum’, heralded by eight trumpets. Joyful praise resounds in the ‘Sanctus’, a brilliant double fugue. The ‘Agnus Dei’ opens with a spine-tingling unaccompanied duet for the soprano and mezzo soloists – this evening, the peerless Elīna Garanča and rising star Juliana Grigoryan.

Only a handful of people have had the privilege of being Principal Conductor of the Philharmonia Orchestra. Muti was at the helm from 1972 to 1982, succeeding Otto Klemperer. He is acknowledged as one of the world’s leading interpreters of Verdi, and one of the great conductors of our time. As the Philharmonia prepares to celebrate its 80^th anniversary, his much-anticipated return is one of the highlights of London’s musical calendar.

This concert is dedicated to the memory of Jo and Barbara Modiano.

Elīna Garanča’s appearance is supported by the Rigler-Deutch Foundation.