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Every year, I wonder whether I should bother to do this, but I always know it will be worthwhile. I was a little sluggish on Tuesday morning, and the first few days of the Proms season are always busy, so I wasn't surprised to end up with raffle ticket 38 in the queue. Nonetheless this allowed me a central position in the second row, so nothing one could reasonably complain about.
I felt as though I'd missed several opportunities to see Verdi's Requiem live over the years, although a day or two beforehand I wondered whether I had seen it and forgotten. But really, when the tenor SeokJong Baek was the first soloist to launch into song, I knew I had never experienced this. Suddenly I appreciated how much effort went into all of the vocals - the microphones are there for the radio audience, not those in the hall. Followed in no particular order by soprano Latonia Moore, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, and bass Soloman Howard, all were excellent. It's an obviously dramatic work, and for me, perhaps sometimes verges on kitsch, in the same manner as overblown graveside memorials in cemeteries in southern Europe. I suppose that's what you get from a primarily operatic composer. It's no exaggeration to say that you felt the thunder of the drums on the Arena floor in the "big tune" sections, but the quiet sections were an effective contrast. Ryan Bancroft, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the BBC National Chorus of Wales and the Crouch End Festival Chorus were all on form. As predicted, it was worth the effort.
I felt as though I'd missed several opportunities to see Verdi's Requiem live over the years, although a day or two beforehand I wondered whether I had seen it and forgotten. But really, when the tenor SeokJong Baek was the first soloist to launch into song, I knew I had never experienced this. Suddenly I appreciated how much effort went into all of the vocals - the microphones are there for the radio audience, not those in the hall. Followed in no particular order by soprano Latonia Moore, mezzo-soprano Karen Cargill, and bass Soloman Howard, all were excellent. It's an obviously dramatic work, and for me, perhaps sometimes verges on kitsch, in the same manner as overblown graveside memorials in cemeteries in southern Europe. I suppose that's what you get from a primarily operatic composer. It's no exaggeration to say that you felt the thunder of the drums on the Arena floor in the "big tune" sections, but the quiet sections were an effective contrast. Ryan Bancroft, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the BBC National Chorus of Wales and the Crouch End Festival Chorus were all on form. As predicted, it was worth the effort.