Tenor Michael Hendrick has at his disposal a powerful voice easily capable of navigating Verdi’s sometimes torturous soaring lines. His vocal color is pleasantly warm and, given its somewhat baritone-ish warmth, has surprising strength in the upper register. When it came time for the grand conclusion of this main tenor solo, he nailed it in a decisive and thrilling fashion.

By Chuck Klaus Contributing writer

They don’t come much grander than the Verdi “Requiem.” Giuseppe Verdi’s liturgical masterwork is a piece that demands strength and a kind of musical purity to make its worth felt.

This was supplied in abundance, courtesy of Daniel Hege, Syracuse Symphony Orchestra’s music director, whose control of the massive group of choristers, soloists and instrumentalists provided a performance where a golden mean was achieved, but never at the price of sacrificing drama.

Time and again, Hege’s felicitous choice of tempo, his dramatic or touching molding of a phrase and his always superb sense of sound balance created just the right mood. The SSO followed him effectively and at times – especially during the thunderous “Dies Irae” – bravely as well, with powerful playing that vigorously captured Verdi’s brightly colored orchestral fabric.

The quartet of soloists was also of a high order. Soprano Marie-Adele McArthur possesses a striking voice – unified in its pleasing color, capable of tremendous range, strong enough to easily soar over the combined sonic mass of the orchestra and chorus, and used with acute intelligence. Her blend with the other soloists was admirable, and her sense of the dramatic in her solos was unerring.

Scarcely less impressive was mezzo-soprano Gigi Mitchell-Velasco. After a slight initial bobble, she provided a gripping performance of Verdi’s demanding score. Verdi loads much of the intimate expressive content squarely on the shoulders of the mezzo, and Mitchell-Velasco delivered with a lovely, solid sonority. Hers is not the hugest mezzo voice imaginable, but it is rich, used with great insight.

Tenor Michael Hendrick has at his disposal a powerful voice easily capable of navigating Verdi’s sometimes torturous soaring lines. His vocal color is pleasantly warm and, given its somewhat baritone-ish warmth, has surprising strength in the upper register. The first high note of his emotionally charged “Ingemisco” was problematic, but when it came time for the grand conclusion of this main tenor solo, he nailed it in a decisive and thrilling fashion.

Bass-baritone Gary Relyea was the veteran of the quartet and displayed finely developed musical taste, an admirable dramatic grasp and an impressive leonine voice that occasionally betrayed slight signs of fraying.

The Cornell University Chorus and Glee Club was wonderfully trained, enunciating well and even upon occasion spitting out the text with a vengeance. The group has a young sound, the soprano voices especially sounding just a bit unformed, and the basses being a bit light in mass for this somber work as well.

But the group was in the spirit and sang with concentration and precision. The audience worked up to a shouting, cheering standing ovation that was justified by one of the grandest, strongest performances of Hege’s tenure.

The details

What: The Syracuse Symphony Orchestra Classics concert

When: Friday night

Where: Civic Center, 411 Montgomery St., Syracuse

Performance time: 1 hour, 26 minutes. No intermission.

Attendance: 1,500

Final performance: at 8 p.m. today; tickets $16 to $66; call 424-8200 or (800) 724-3810 between noon and 5 p.m.

In brief: Masterly, controlled performance of a great Verdi work with winning soloists.

http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-141955142.html

by Chuck Klaus

The Syracuse Post-Standard