Raehann Bryce-Davis (above) sings Lady Macbeth’s “La Luce Langue” at a 2021 concert given at Antwerp. Alejo Pérez conducts the Opera Ballet Vlaanderen Orchestra.
Watch and listen here.
In 2019, Ms. Bryce-Davies sang the mezzo-soprano part in the Verdi REQUIEM with Oratorio Society of New York at Carnegie Hall; she was truly impressive.
The Recordare from the Verdi REQUIEM, sung by Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha and Elīna Garanča, with the orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, conducted by Antonio Pappano.
Watch and listen here.
Soloists Dame Margaret Price, Della Jones, Stuart Burrows, and Robert Lloyd (above) are featured in a 1987 performance of the Verdi REQUIEM given at Cardiff, with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Cardiff Polyphonic Choral, Cantorian Ardwynm, and the Swansea Bach Choir. James Lockhart is the conductor.
Watch and listen here.
Many, many years ago, my fellow opera-lover Susan Gould sent me a poster from a performance of the Verdi REQUIEM given at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 1972. With her usual thoughtfulness, Susan very kindly took the time to have it autographed for me by the four soloists – Katia Ricciarelli, Beverly Wolff, Nicolai Gedda, and Bonaldo Giaiotti – and by Maestro Thomas Schippers. It’s one of my treasures.
Today, completely by chance, I found the performance on YouTube. Listen to it here.
Above: soprano Anna Tomowa-Sintow
Maestro Claudio Abbado conducts the orchestra and chorus of La Scala in a performance of the Verdi REQUIEM given at Tokyo in 1981. The soloists are Anna Tomowa-Sintow, Lucia Valentini-Terrani, Veriano Lucchetti, and Nicolai Ghiaurov.
Watch and listen here.
Above: basso John Relyea
A performance of the Verdi REQUIEM from the 2019 Baalbeck International Festival 2019. given at the Bacchus Temple on July 26th, 2019. The soloists are Maria Agresta, Daniela Barcellona, Giorgio Berrugi, and John Relyea, with the Romanian Radio Chamber Orchestra and the Antonine University Choir conducted by Toufic Maatouk.
Watch and listen here.
Above: Martina Arroyo and Oralia Dominguez
A televised performance of the Verdi REQUIEM given at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, in June 1969. Martina Arroyo, Oralia Dominguez, Aldo Bottion, and Nicolai Ghiuselev are the soloists; Jean Martinon conducts.
Watch and listen here.
News of the death of Camellia Johnson (above) eerily came on a day I had just been listening to her voice. In the course of my Summer project of transferring some of the rare items in my cassette collection to MP3, I had just come across a tape of parts of the Verdi REQUIEM in which Ms. Johnson is the soprano soloist.
The broadcast of this REQUIEM was something I came upon quite by chance; as the announcer was introducing the performance, I found myself with only one blank side of one tape to hand. I slipped it into the deck and decided to concentrate on recording excerpts in which the two women are prominent, Florence Quivar being a particular favorite of mine. Listen to what I preserved here:
Verdi REQUIEM – excerpts – Baltimore 1994 – C Johnson Quivar Heppner G Relyea – Zinman
In 1995, I had the good fortune to hear Camellia Johnson live at two different, wonderful venues. She sang with the Philharmonia Virtuosi at the Met Museum, and she gave a recital at Alice Tully Hall accompanied by Neal Goren. I remember being blown away by both the velvety warmth of her tone and her gift for finding a direct communicative channel to the audience. On both evenings she programmed Wagner’s Wesendonck lieder; at the Met concert, she gave a stunning performance of “To This We’ve Come” from Menotti’s THE CONSUL whilst with Mr. Goren she sang a lushly resonant “Du bist der lenz” from DIE WALKURE.
Camellia Johnson sang at The Met from 1985 thru 1994, debuting there as Lily in PORGY AND BESS. Her most frequent Met role was the Priestess in AIDA; she also scored a personal success with her sumptuous and emotionally charged singing of Madelon’s aria in ANDREA CHENIER.
Oberon's Glade 