Ely Choral Society - The Verdi Requiem

Giuseppe Verdi devoted his career to the composition of operas, but following the death in May 1873 of the Italian writer and humanist Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi had admired all his life, he resolved to write a Requiem in his memory. It was given its first performance in the church of San Marco in Milan on the first anniversary of Manzoni’s death.

With Verdi’s skill in composing sensational music to portray the twists and turns of romantic operatic stories, it is no surprise that his setting of the Requiem Mass text brings a fully-charged emotional roller-coaster from the penitential prayers for peace for the soul of the deceased, to the stormy drama of the day of judgement in Dies Irae.

In order to give the performance the necessary full choral impact, conductor Andrew Parnell has invited Grantham Choral Society to join forces with Ely Choral Society.

In addition, the performance will be accompanied by Wymondham Symphony Orchestra, whom Andrew has directed since 2003.

With an international line-up of locally-connected soloists this will be an unmissable musical experience in the awe-inspiring architecture of Ely Cathedral.

Tara Bungard soprano
Cassandra Manning mezzo-soprano
Thomas Elwin tenor
Alastair Miles bass

Tickets: £15, £22, £28.
Under 18s £5