"Messa da Requiem" by Giuseppe Verdi was performed on the 15th of November at the Sofia Opera under the conductorship of Daniel Oren, with the participation of Mariangela Sicilia, Ekaterina Semenchuk, Stefan Pop, Dmitriy Ulyanov and the Sofia Opera orchestra and choir. Choir conductor: Violeta Dimitrova.

Long after the final accord had struck, the audience was still silently relishing the divine service the artists on stage had created. "Save me, God" continued to resonate within the souls of the hundreds of viewers. The applause that followed unleashed a wave of emotions. People were at a loss for words to describe their admiration of this emotional and deeply inspiring interpretaton of Verdi's work.  

Here is Maestro Daniel Oren's special message for the Bulgarian audience:

Giuseppe Verdi's Messa da Requiem, composed by the maestro in 1874, is a work that combines spiritual depth with the composer's typical drama; it is not just a piece of sacred music, but a reflection on human existence, pain and the search for redemption, where Verdi explores universal themes such as life, death, the hope for salvation and the uncertainty of obtaining it.

Among the musical aspects, I would like to emphasise the emotional contrasts rendered in the score through a lot of colours and effects, which have great impact on the listener. In my opinion, in order to best render the composer's intentions, it is the duty of the performers to pay great attention to them, almost exasperatingly so.

Another very important aspect in my opinion is that Verdi chooses to give crucial importance to the chorus, which becomes an active character in the narrative, just like the soloists. Everyone is given an intense and never passive function.

The Requiem is a piece that breaks the conventions of sacred music conceived as such, making it more earthy and dramatic. The great genius of Verdi, as I like to call him, wrote something so profound that it even transcends religious barriers: it is no coincidence that 1874 was a time when he himself was furthest removed from religious faith. It does not matter if you are Christian, Jewish, Muslim: there will always be room for prayer. It helps to feel less lonely.

Every time I conduct this masterpiece, it is an opportunity for me to pray together with the musicians and the audience: I feel very deep emotions, and I feel very close to God, closer than I can feel in any other way. I remember with great joy the last Requiem I conducted in Dresden last May, as well as the one I conducted at the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia a few years ago; and each time for me it is a discovery, each time thanks to this music different aspects of our human being come to light, which remains the centre of the whole composition.