For one night only in its two week Verdi season, the Kirov Opera appeared out of costume. Valery Gergiev's calling card as conductor has previously been the dramatic yet disciplined performances he has drawn from these forces; after the mixed reviews for the operas presented here recently, it was to be hoped that this Requiem would restore some of the rigour that has reportedly been lacking. Gergiev conducted the Philharmonia in a searing concert of this same work only weeks ago in the Festival Hall. The Royal Opera House, however, is not a concert hall.
Semi-hidden in the orchestra pit, Gergiev could not be a focus of the audience's attention for anyone other than those in the less expensive seats at the very top and one realised what a magnetic visual presence he had been in the Festival Hall. Nobody dared blow a nose during the opening pianissimo then. And the extra brass and drum in the Dies Irae, tucked away in one end of the Opera House pit, sounded ominously close to the audience. These hellfire choruses were arresting, but they inspired the fear of Gergiev rather than of God. The superficial discipline at the start - 80 singers opening folders in synchronicity - did not always transfer to their performance, nor did Gergiev maintain constant control. There were several moments of shabby ensemble.
However, when it really mattered the precision was there - in the dancing imitative phrases of the Sanctus, orchestral detail bubbling through, and in the complex fugue of the Libera me. In this last movement especially, the luxury of a whole section of real contraltos gave the chorus a sonority that ensembles outside Russia just do not have.
The young tenor soloist Daniil Shtoda has been making a name for himself; his voice is promising but should not be pushed too hard yet. Marina Shaguch's soprano pierced through. There was one real world class Verdi singer - the mezzo Olga Borodina - and her ripe performance did not disappoint.
