Donizetti commemorated his departed colleague Bellini with a requiem mass, and Verdi wished to follow suit by paying tribute to Rossini, the last of the Bel Canto Trio to pass away. Verdi aimed to accomplish this by bringing together his era's most exceptional composers to collaborate on a Requiem. The plan, however, did not succeed, for it appeared that only Verdi felt the great debt Italian music owed to Rossini. He began work on the Libera Me as if in anticipation that he would end up ...composing the entire requiem himself: this movement features motifs that later develop into entire movements of their own. It can be said without hesitation that Verdi's composition is on a par with Beethoven's Missa Solemnis and Haydn's later masses as the pinnacle of 19th century religious music.
The esteemed opera scholar Julian Budden set himself the challenge of choosing Verdi's greatest work. His conclusion was that this is just as difficult to pin down as with many of the other great composers. But if we phrase the question differently, to ask which work reveals Verdi's genius at its most concentrated, then the answer is undeniably his Requiem. It was into this work that he poured everything developed in his 26 operas, which he could only fully consolidate by setting aside the various demands that a stage presents. Like Beethoven, Verdi deeply admired the choral writing in the oratorios of Handel, and the mass as a genre finally provided him the opportunity to compose for a choir on a scale and with a variety of ideas similar to that of his great predecessor.
Presented by: MR Music Groups
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
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