Requiem

Report by Zsuzsanna

 

An elevating and thrilling performance of Verdi’s Requiem

 

José Cura conducts for the benefit of Salva Vita’s charity concert in Budapest on 6th February 2008

 

José Cura’s visit to Hungary and its capital, Budapest this year in February marked his tenth performance and sixth conducting concert in the country since 2000. Among others his memorable interpretations so far has been with Dvorak (Ninth Symphony from the New World), Kodály (Galanta Dances, Te Deum), Rachmaninov (Piano Concerto No.2) and Rossini (Stabat Mater). This time he challenged Verdi’s monumental Requiem in a charity concert dedicated for the benefit of Salva Vita Foundation. Accepting their invitation, his concert celebrated the 15th anniversary of Salva Vita and their tireless activities to help the integration of people with intellectual disabilities into our everyday life and society through their various educational and employment programmes.

José Cura spent a smiling, fruitful period of common musicianship in Budapest that reflected the joy of creation. He worked with young, talented and enthusiastic musicians. An excellent orchestra (Danubia Symphonic Orchestra), extended choirs (Budapest Monteverdi Choir and Cantate Choir), four soloists: Ildikó Cserna (soprano), Andrea UIlbrich (mezzo), István Kovácsházi (tenor), Gábor Bretz (bass) were his new partners in a famous plot among the beautiful old walls of Budapest’s Music Academy. José Cura, the singers (both the soloists and members of the choirs) and musicians offered their best throughout the concert and were richly rewarded by the audience. A charismatic, magnificent performance crowned the evening of charity on 6th February and earned huge success on the basis of their determined and impassioned work on Verdi’s Requiem. This could not have been achieved following a routine script of rehearsals but with adding the results of their concentrated, committed work from both sides. Between José’s performances of Massenet’s Le Cid in Zurich, they managed to utilize the available, small gaps of his busy calendar and went ahead with the concert with his leadership during their stirring and intensive musical cooperation.

More interviews were made with him during the friendly press conference which preceded the second period of the rehearsals. The nice, joyful atmosphere of the place was a typical case in José’s presence. He did not hide his sincere thoughts about the score and the fact, that Verdi’s Requiem meant a great challenge for him. According to his opinion, this musical piece is totally different from that which the audience usually get. So he brooded about Verdi’s music a lot in following the genius’s intended interpretation. José explained his feelings, that there was something else in the score and in the interpretation, the latter; the emotion was talking to him in another way. He compared it to the recipe of a delicate cake. You read it carefully and put all the ingredients into the cake in the exact amount, without any change as it is prescribed. But when you finally prepare and taste it, your instincts, senses and emotions feel the missing flavours you must put into it to reach and show the essence of the piece. To confirm his impressions he investigated the news, what do (or what do not) people hear from the music in the age of Verdi. His talk to Verdi, the sources, Verdi’s letters made him realize his ideas, that the Requiem was not a mere begging but the demand of mercy, a proclamation, a declaration according to Verdi’s imagination. Thus, - José thought -, it could easily cause surprise for those who got used to think in a conservative way. Perhaps this concert will be one of the most difficult days in his life emotionally, but he would like to give a magnificent evening for those who will come to the Music Academy.

Despite of the late schedule, the musicians came early to the plot of rehearsal, one by one, nobody wanted to be late, knowing that the Maestro was very strict. José became famous for his steady work, although he wouldn’t mind to rehearse with them day and night, they really enjoyed working with him; he was very helpful, his good spirits and jokes always helped his partners to overcome the difficulties. We could experience these ourselves in the next day during the main rehearsal of Requiem. It took place on the day before the concert and was a public event as it was a usual custom in the Music Academy. Many people appeared; music lovers and students came there to see and listen to the Maestro and his partners, their common work.

They did huge and very concentrated work on the score part by part and also as a whole together while integrated and tuned the different musical lines, vocals, texts and spirits into a unified and elevating performance. José’s waves conveyed the strong rhythm and strength of will of the music. From the very beginning he launched and maintained his diligently vivid, quick and passionate tempi on purpose to express the initial declarative, very rich and lively mood of the piece. The musicians followed his brisk, talkative waves, ideas and conception with great stamina. José worked in his real medium now, in the central point of the musical waves, let the sounds pass through his body and radiated it with his firm imagination again toward the orchestra, choir, singers and us in a kind of state of ecstasy. It was easy to forget about time and space as José’s baton led us trough the dramatic musical passages. We were really honoured to discover and experience the distinct colours of this beautiful process. Soon our immerse attention grew into a palpable, very silent, third participant in the Hall. At the end, a spontaneous applause expressed our delight and gratitude for the enjoyment, but José immediately passed it toward his musicians. His smiling face also confirmed for us that there were great things in making for the concert.

The performance of Verdi’s Requiem is always considered as a great event and full house welcomed the night of charity in the Great Hall of the Music Academy on Wednesday evening. After the short celebration of the Salva Vita Foundation’s work, its activists and main supporters, the festive mood and particular atmosphere of the event raised further when José Cura stepped to the conductor’s podium. The warm and bursting applause of the audience transmitted our appreciation and joy toward him, for his presence and the forthcoming experience which was burdened with great expectations too.

José Cura greeted us with a smiling “Good Evening!” in Hungarian language and the applause became even stronger. Then he stood on the podium for a while in silence to take time for the encouragement of the musicians and to maintain the spiritual honour of the piece and the evening. The line of remembrance continued in the beginning of the very silent and transparent “Requiem aeternam” movement of the choir until the distinct voice of the soloist emerged with great pride. The soft, caressing movements of José’s hands were in contrast and strengthened by the energetic impulses of his body and let to the music breath. Then without any moment of break or transition the magnificent rhythm and sound of the central “Dias Irae” motif flooded us from the stage with the impatient, demanding voices, drums and strings in more, violent circles. It immediately followed by the boasting, unique trumpets from above our heads, from every corner of the Hall in excellent connections and acoustics. This short, very characteristic whirlpool-like sequence carried the same, live pulse and heartbeat of the piece as we experienced this effect last time under his baton in Kodály’s furious Te Deum. Verdi’s melodies took flight in the further, ensuing dramatic storytelling as well. José paid his fellow, very particular attention and support to the singers and choirs here and finished this sequence with the painfully beautiful “Lacrymosa”: The singers’ performance and his conducting style achieved magical moments indeed as the music was slowed down, hold out to the end and softened carefully in the final items. After a bit of breath, the second part of the piece enhanced the newer, very complex, yet fluent and dignified changes of the music and gained new energy in the overjoyed “Sanctus” and the final, glorious “Libera Me” movements. All the features of Verdi’s music were summarized and celebrated here and crowned by the breathtaking, soft conclusion again.

José’s uncompromising, warm and true dialogue with Verdi in the podium and his stunning, beautiful leadership on the whirling musical reflections left his unique trademark on the evening. It grabbed our souls and recalled the live, cooperating and very sensitive attention of the audience throughout the concert. The latter concentrated into a sole, common thought of enchanted amazement, starred at this long and difficult piece with opened mind and created a wonderfully dense silence in the Music Hall. When the last bit of sound set down at the end, still our heavy, common stillness prevailed on the Hall for some moments. Then it became even more talkative and you suddenly heard the roaring sound of the little screams of joy which accumulated into long, thunderous, frenetic applause. Our wild celebration lasted for almost ten minutes. José lifted up the score into the air and gave tribute to the composer, to Verdi first. Then he was very busy to pass the applause toward his partners and gave credit for every section of the orchestra, the choirs and then for each singers. We joined to him in this procedure with great enthusiasm while we became louder and louder and just did not want to finish the tireless ovation. It was an exhausting encore for everybody and finally José nicely took leave of us.

Some moments later we could greet our tired and happy Maestro behind the stage. He bravely fulfilled the requests and signed many posters and scores until he was rushed by his fellow musicians for joining their newly launched common celebration in the house. This exceptional evening worthily served the generous goal of charity and harvested all the spirits which were invested into its organisational and musical work. Everybody agreed that we would like to meet with him and experience his very complex musical thoughts on the conductor’s podium even more in the future.

Fortunately we do not have to wait too much time for another forthcoming encounter with José Cura, this time with the opera singer in Hungary, in the title role of Verdi’s other masterpiece, Otello on 9th and 11th of April in the National Theatre of Szeged.

 

 

 

More photos from Zsuzsanna