Search - Verdi, Domingo, Barenboim :: Requiem

O boy O boy O boy

Svein Olav Nyberg | Grimstad, Norway | 06/28/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Alessandra Marc's voice makes me notice I have nerve endings in my tailbone: I don't know how many times I've played Libera Me and Agnus Dei now, but they still give me chills up the spine.The work itself is grand: It's hard not to be aroused when "Dies Irae". The music sprints up that hill and rolls down on the pebbles on the other side. And over again.These two polarities define the work in a way that appeals strongly to me: The calmly beautiful contrasted with the unrestrained power.It is only a week since the radio assaulted my senses with this music, and already it threatens to replace Mozart's Requiem as my favourite classical work."

Good, But Not The Best

Gregg M. Howell | Baltimore, MD United States | 08/15/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This recording of Verdi's Requiem is certainly a fine recording, but not the best available. The orchestra and chorus are in fine form and the soloists are also in fine form, with the exception of the soprano, Alessandra Marc. She very often sings out of tune with sloppy attention to ascending whole-steps and descending half-steps being horribly out of tune. Most noticable of her inadequacies is the high B at the end of the a capella section in the Libera Me. She is so out of tune that it is disturbing. It is also absolutely unforgivable. It ruins the entire recording for me. For me, this moment is the highlight of the work and to have it so miserably destroyed by a bad singer is unforgivable. What I also do not understand is why it was not either remastered or rerecorded. It is funny to read that some of the reviewers thought she was "spine tingling." Yes, she was, but not in a good way."