Listen Verdi carefully, especially if you’ll be in or near Philly this Friday, April 25: At 8 p.m. that day, the University Choral Society, Penn Symphony Orchestra and four vocal soloists will perform Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem inside Irvine Auditorium.
The 80-minute work, presented in full this Friday, was composed in 1874 to honor a 19th-century Italian poet. The BBC called it “one of the greatest classical works of all time” and NPR said it offers “the drama of opera and the thrill of wonderful symphonic writing combined with stellar, virtuosic solo moments.”
Requiem is also the piece that Choral Society director William Parberry said he’d “love to repeat” in an interview with the Gazette last year. (The group most recently performed it on campus in 2007.)
Four soloists will join the two student groups on Friday: soprano Sarah Davis, mezzo-soprano Chrystal Williams, tenor Blake Smith and bass Brian Chu. Admission is free with a PennCard and $5 without one.
Here’s a taste of when the Choral Society and Symphony Orchestra joined forces for another Verdi piece — Te Deum — in 2012:
—Molly Petrilla C’06