Wednesday 24 September 2008

Verdi's Requiem

It turned out that this isn't my first time watching an orchestra performance. I recalled the humble concert I attended with my groupmates last year :P But still, Verdi's Requiem was my first experience with Turkish who was all dressed smartly for it.

We got to Tchaikovsky Concert Hall 45minutes early to check out the building. It was already crowded with people of all ages (mostly old folks) and international patrons. I heard groups prattling in Italian, some in Spanish and a bunch of teenagers in English. We snapped some pictures here and there, seemingly the only ones doing so (kinda weird, right). The old ladies looked at the both of us in disapproval expressions LOL

Turkish and I *giggles*

Who else but the statue of Tchaikovksy himself

Souvenirs for sale! I get it it's a music thing but need or not..

The amphitheatre is huge. Its interior is pristine white! The chair cushions are bright blue and that's about it. The stage has those organ pipes as backdrop, I think the hall can accommodate more than 1000 spectators. Definitely. Our seats were good. We were near the stage and we could see the musicians' faces clearly. After the 3rd bell rang, the entrance doors were shut and lights shone on the stage.

The setting of the stage

The seating of the spectators

White-bearded men in black suits and age-range between 50-70 years old women in white tops walked along the sidelines and positioned themselves on the stage. They were the Choir group for the orchestra. I counted at least 120 of them. Then came the quartet of singers, consisting of a soprano, mezzo-soprano, tenor and bass. The sexy mezzo-soprano lady and her dazzling dress caused quite a stir amongst the crowd ;) The conductor was the last to appear and he looked like a sweet old man.

Aaaahhhh! When it all began..

Familiar faces of old ladies who knocked you over in the Metro? LOL

A woman in a suit, singing with the men! Strong/manly voice?

They played, they sang and so, they performed. It was that beautiful that I nearly pee-ed in my pants (skirt rather). I looked around at the other audiences, everyone gave their full attention. I don't think it is possible to fall asleep when there's so much going on. The violinists cue finished, then the trombone guys started to blow away.. then out of no where, sneaky tunes ran from left to right and the trumpets hailed from the side. It was simply grrrrrreat to watch!

Funny thing was, whenever there was a break in between the pieces, coughing and clearing-throat sounds were heard. I guess people were afraid they might suddenly have an exacerbation and disturb the atmosphere. Psychologically, I
ahheeekkkkk my own too. 1 1/2 hours of full performance without break. My conclusion is such :

1. Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra is excellent

2. The old folks from the Choir Group have strong legs

3. The music conductor has beautiful, fine and silky hair

4. And he looked like he was having anaphylactic shock but he wasn't

5. I enjoyed myself

L-R: Veronica Dgioeva (soprano), Elena Maksimova (mezzo-soprano),
Alexander Dimitriev (conductor), Ahmed Agadi (tenor)
and Nikolai Didenko (bass)

Alexander in action! Check out his hand gestures ;)


Hahahahahaa on a funny note, there was once a hoax in Hong Kong. I feel lucky that I attended the genuine one :P And pardon me if I wrote something disrespectful to the music community. I don't have great knowledge in this field, you see. I like what I hear but sometimes I may not know how to listen.

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