24-25 Program Book - Flipbook - Page 68
Messa da requiem (1874)
CONTINUED
misery, calamity, etc. on the Day of Judgment, highlighted by a short reiteration
of the frightening Dies Irae music. Requiem text is then used again, peacefully.
The Libera me text then returns to the same increasing intensity and a concluding
fugue. The work finally ends as it began—quietly, ominously, but listeners are left
with some hope and peace as the piece ends in a major key.
Those familiar with Verdi’s operas will recognize many of his style traits present in
this work. There is something a little different, however, in the level of expression
in the Requiem. Perhaps there is a personal side that pushes the emotions deeper,
or an element of fear that seems more real because it is based on a very different
storyline. The Requiem was an immediate success in Italy and other places but
was not universally acclaimed right away. It later disappeared from the standard
choral repertoire but reappeared in the mid-20th century and is now a staple of
orchestral and choral concert series.
Danielle Pastin
SOPRANO
With her “lovely demeanor and irresistible creamy
timbre”, soprano Danielle Pastin is in demand
nationwide and abroad. Her wide-ranging
repertoire encompasses the classical as well as the
contemporary and she is equally at home in opera
and concert.
Recent seasons have found Ms. Pastin at the
Metropolitan, Dallas, Pittsburgh, Santa Fe, Austin,
Nashville, Palm Beach, Arizona, Central City and
Manitoba Operas in such roles as Puccini’s Mimi, Liu
and Butterfly, Mozart’s Donna Anna, Donna Elvira,
Fiordiligi and the Countess, Verdi’s Desdemona and
Violetta, Micaela in Carmen, Nedda in Pagliacci and
Masha in The Queen of Spades.
Internationally she has reprised many of these roles with the Savonlinna Festival
in Finland, the Macau-Beijing Festival in China, and at the Royal Albert Hall
in London. Additionally, she has created roles in new works including Robert
68 CLASSICAL SERIES VERDI’S DEFIANT REQUIEM
