Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66
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BENJAMIN BRITTEN
Britten: War Requiem, Op. 66
Anna Netrebko, Ian Bostridge, Thomas Hampson / Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Antonio Pappano
[ Warner Classics / CD ]
Release Date: Thursday 1 May 2014
2013 marks the 100th birthday of Benjamin Britten and EMI pays tribute to this key figure of 20th century music with the release of a brand new recording of his War Requiem, with a stellar line up of soloists - Anna Netrebko, Ian Bostridge and Thomas Hampson.
Considered to be Britten's crowning choral work, and for some possibly the pinnacle of his entire output, it was commissioned for the festival marking the consecration of the new cathedral at Coventry.
"Bostridge has that liquid, Pears-ian shimmer in his voice...Pappano's secret weapon is Anna Netrebko, whose thrilling steel-cored soprano is a match for Galina Vishnevskaya's...Pappano ignites the drama. his opening is truly hushed...his chorus in the Dies Irae snarls." BBC Music Magazine, Christmas Issue 2013 ****
"Pappano is all open-hearted emotion. He achieves an Italianate sense of drama, not inappropriately reminiscent of his Verdi, in the Latin sections of the Mass, where Anna Netrebko's proud soprano - with a slight Russian edge, like Vishnevskaya, but not too much - adds a patina of glamour." Gramophone Magazine, December 2013
"Bostridge is a very apt choice; he has this work in his blood...All three soloists are excellent. With such power and force in her delivery, [Netrebko] projects well. Hampson shows great sensitivity in shaping his part and imbuing it with a formidable range of tonal colour...The orchestral sound is vivid...Pappano's is an impressive achievement, and one I will return to often." MusicWeb International, 28th January 2014
"Shatteringly moving, superbly sung by Anna Netrebko, Ian Bostridge and Thomas Hampson" The Independent on Sunday, 10th November 2013 *****
