CD: Verdi – Requiem

The dramatic intensity of Verdi’s Requiem reflects the composer’s operatic expertise, and expresses the powerful emotions of the sacred texts. His inspiration for the work was his high regard for two fellow Italian artists, composer Gioachino Rossini and patriotic author Alessandro Manzoni, and it became an overnight sensation at its premiere in Milan. This recording comes from a concert recorded live at the Royal Festival Hall in 1983, during López-Cobos’s tenure as Principal Guest Conductor of the London Philharmonic Orchestra.