Requiem

RESCHEDULED MAY 2022 | Length: 90 minutes

The capstone of Opera Roanoke’s 45th season anniversary is Verdi’s monumental Requiem. This towering work showcases four soloists, a double chorus, and full orchestra all performing to virtuosic heights.  

A requiem is most often a musical setting of a Catholic funeral mass. While not particularly religious himself, Verdi composed this piece in memory of his friend, Alessandro Manzoni, an Italian poet, novelist, and a cultural icon of his time. Though not technically written as an opera, NPR has called this Requiem an “Opera in disguise” because of its powerfully dramatic writing, both vocally and symphonically, which is typical of Verdi’s operas.  

In a time when the world around us is coming to terms with uncertainty and death on a global scale, Verdi’s Requiem honors the memory of those who have died and gives hope to those who remain. We are all connected. This transcendent choral masterpiece will bring our community together to mourn, to remember, and to hope for better days ahead.