In his magnificent Requiem, first heard in Milan in1874, Verdi brought all his dramatic genius to a sacred text. The chorus and orchestra of the Paris Opéra, under their music director Philippe Jordan, marked the composer’s bicentenary in 2013 with two performances of the work. Joining them was an impressive quartet of soloists: soprano Kristin Lewis, mezzo-soprano Violeta Urmana, tenor Piotr Beczala and bass Ildar Abdrazakov.

“The result was a performance on an elevated level,” wrote ForumOpéra. “The audience rose to its feet to acknowledge an interpretation that sought less to wake the dead than to pay them tribute. That was precisely Verdi’s intention when he originally decided to compose a Requiem to honour [the poet] Alessandro Manzoni ... Kristin Lewis’ voice blossoms to the full in the scores of Verdi’s maturity ... Her Aida was stunning, and [here] her sleek luminosity evoked the Nile (and Leontyne Price) ... Violeta Urmana was even throughout her range, with a generous middle register and sure top notes ... Piotr Beczala’s sculpted tone accommodated both nuance and restraint and .... Ildar Abdrazakov’s singing was ... filled with humanity ... his tone noble, cut from royal cloth.”