Giuseppe Verdi’s Requiem Mass has to be the signature work of the Riccardo Muti era with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Any remaining doubt was erased when he reprised it Thursday evening with the first in a set of four concerts that culminate the orchestra’s 2024-25 season in extraordinary fashion.
It is the fourth time that the renowned Verdi specialist, who served as the CSO’s music director from 2010 through 2023 and now holds the title music director emeritus for life, has taken on this 1874 setting of the Catholic mass for the dead with the ensemble.
But more important than the quantity of performances has been their quality. And Muti’s return to it Thursday was arguably his best yet. This was one of those rare, transcendent concerts that stays with you, echoing in your ears and lingering in your memory.
It is customary in reviews to comment on the various contributors to a performance, and that will come later, but most striking here was the intricate interplay among the musicians, soloists and Chicago Symphony Chorus and how everything fit together as a seamless, organic whole.
Shaping it all was the 83-year-old maestro, who, in the fullest sense of that title, put all his musical wisdom, lifetime experience and sheer artistry to work in a most glorious way. Nothing was taken for granted. There was a sense that each phrase, each word, even each breath had been carefully considered.
Verdi was first and foremost an opera composer, and much has been made of how operatic this 90-minute sacred work is, which is another way of saying that it incorporates a surprising level of drama along with the reverent, penitential and exultant moments expected in a mass.
The most famous part of this Requiem is the thundering opening of the Dies Irae, with the words in Latin, “Day of wrath, day of anger.” It is reprised several times, including in the final section, Libera Me.
With principal percussionist Cynthia Yeh punctuating each iteration with simultaneous mighty blows on two bass drums, Muti (gesturing emphatically with two raised fists at one point) and his forces delivered takes that were at once powerful, high-flying, thrilling and, as Verdi surely intended, downright frightening.
But just as important Thursday were the smaller, quieter moments, like the Requiem’s delicate opening that began with a hushed, almost imperceptible whisper in the cellos or the expressive, impactful embrace of just one all-important word, “Amen’’ at the end of the Lacrymosa.
Because of Muti’s standing in the classical-music world and his association with Verdi, he can attract the world’s finest singers. Showcased here were four superb soloists, three of whom were making their debuts with the CSO, including tenor John Osborn and bass-baritone Maharram Huseynov.
Particularly impressive were the two women soloists, whose voices were perfectly matched. Soprano Elena Guseva, making both her first CSO and American appearances, has a big, soaring voice with top notes that were consistently airy and penetrating. Mezzo-soprano Marianne Crebassa offered impassioned, appealingly natural singing that proved an ideal fit with Verdi’s vocal style.
Earlier this month, Donald Palumbo was appointed the third-ever director of the Chicago Symphony Chorus, with his duties set to begin July 1. The former chorus master of New York’s Metropolitan Opera served as guest director for this set of concerts, and his excellent preparation made clear why he was hired.
Not only did the chorus sing with unblemished technique and a consistently nuanced, organic and encompassing sound, there was a compelling immediacy to their performance, a responsiveness not only to Muti but to everyone else on the stage.
The orchestra was at its triumphant best in this performance, with first-rate individual performances by a range of musicians as well as a kind of chorale of eight trumpeters — four on stage, two off-stage left and two off-stage right — creating an enchanting, stereophonic effect in the Tuba mirum.
But most important in this work was the musicians’ key support role as accompanists to the chorus and soloists. And with Muti’s constant, minute guidance, they were obviously listening intently to each other and all that was happening around them — reacting, bolstering and enhancing moment by moment.
The word “world-class” is thrown around a lot and often misapplied. But this was, quite simply, a world-class performance by any definition.