VERDI'S REQUIEM at PALACE HALL on April 15, 2027
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Giuseppe Verdi's "Messa da REQUIEM", one of the most impressive sacred creations in the history of music, will be staged during Lent, on April 15, 2027, at the Palace Hall. The monumental masterpiece will transport the audience into a unique sonic universe, where the drama of Verdi's operas blends with the depth of spiritual reflection and the intensity of the incessant struggle between good and evil. The solo line-up will bring renowned names from the opera scene before the public, the first two confirmed presences being tenor Ștefan von Korch and mezzo-soprano Orsolya Veress. The Oltenia Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra and the Academic Choir of the same institution will bring the tumultuous work to life, on an evening where from rebellion to contemplation and prayer is but a step.
From the delicacy of the first chords to the overwhelming outbursts in the famous "Dies Irae", Verdi's Requiem is an emotional journey of rare intensity. Conceived for four soloists, choir, and a large orchestra, the Messa da Requiem impresses with its richness of sound colors and the expressive force that has made it famous on the world's greatest stages.
Tenor Ştefan von Korch, coordinator of the Musical Extravaganza season, of which the performance is an integral part, offers details: "In this music, fear and hope, doubt and faith, human fragility and the aspiration for eternity meet. Each page of the score speaks of the great questions of existence, through a musical language of extraordinary richness and expressiveness."
The REQUIEM is the work in which Verdi, already famous in his time for operas such as "Aida", "Rigoletto", and "La Traviata", gives a new dimension to his creative force: the composition of almost theatrical dramatic intensity is considered by many specialists to be "an opera in religious dress".
The choral-orchestral sequence „Dies Irae", which evokes the Last Judgment through sonic tumult and dramatic contrasts, alongside the tenor aria „Ingemisco," the duet „Agnus Dei" and the final sequence „Libera me" are considered the most spectacular and explosive pages in sacred music.
The „Messa da REQUIEM" on April 15, 2027, is the second complete work presented in the Musical Extravaganza season, after Carmina Burana scheduled for February 21, 2027, also at Sala Palatului.
About Messa da REQUIEM
Composed in memory of the Italian writer Alessandro Manzoni, whom Verdi esteemed, the Requiem follows the traditional Latin text of the Mass for the Dead and is conceived as a solemn funeral service. It was first performed in 1874 in the San Marco church in Milan and has become one of the most resonant creations in the vocal-symphonic repertoire. Unlike other requiems that emphasize the serenity of faith, Verdi's work often expresses man's fear, hope, suffering, and anxiety in the face of death, giving the work a profoundly human dimension.
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About ** Ştefan von Korch – Tenor, Host Soloist Musical Extravaganza **
Ştefan von Korch, applauded for his tenor line in Carmina Burana but also for his roles in "I Puritani," "The Barber of Seville," "Rigoletto," "The Elixir of Love," or "Falstaff," delights the audience monthly as host soloist and artistic coordinator of the Musical Extravaganza season, a pioneering cultural project developed in the capital, with extensions on the stages in Braşov, Piteşti, Sibiu, Craiova, and Târgu Mureş.
With a dynamic presence in national and international cultural life, Ştefan von Korch has already been present since the beginning of the year on the stage of the National Theatre in Bucharest, at the Braşov Philharmonic, Sibiu, Târgu Mureş, Arad, and on the stage of the Iaşi National Opera in "The Merry Widow 2.0," directed by Andrei Şerban.
In 2025, he was the only Romanian soloist in the highly traditional concerts "Los Tres Tenores," in Central America, alongside soloists from Spain and Honduras, he debuted at the Romanian Athenaeum in "Concert at the Imperial Court," he opened the Arad Philharmonic season with "Carmina Burana," his "signature" work, in which he also started the year on the stage of the Transilvania State Philharmonic.
It is the unmistakable voice for the tenor line in Carmina Burana – a passage at the limit of the male voice's capabilities, which he navigates with overflowing ease. Thanks to his performance style, he has been invited to over 40 performances of Carmina Burana, in Philharmonic Halls and cultural institutions across the country, as well as abroad. In 2024, he had the honor of opening the Palermo Classica Festival with this work, with an acclaimed appearance in both the peninsula's and Romania's press.
His name is also associated with over 15 performances at the National Opera in Bucharest, where he has been invited over time in "The Barber of Seville," "The Elixir of Love," and "Falstaff," as well as the national premiere of the opera "I Puritani" by Vicenzo Bellini, one of the highest parts written for the male voice.
He concluded the year 2024 with notable appearances at the Ion Dacian National Operetta and Musical Theatre, at the Palace Hall, and at the Philharmonic Halls in Târgu-Mureș and Timișoara.
In 2023, he was the only Romanian soloist in the China Tour 2023, alongside the Reino de Aragon Orchestra from Spain.
He delighted the audience with his voice in 3 national premieres: "I Puritani" and "La Sonnambula," both by Vicenzo Bellini, the vocal-symphonic work "Messa di Gloria" by Rossini, as well as the European premiere "Traiano in Dacia."
Over time, he has performed roles specific to his voice in the very well-known operas: "Rigoletto", "The Barber of Seville", "The Elixir of Love", "Don Pasquale", on the stages of the Bucharest, Cluj, and Iaşi Operas, and is a constant presence on the stages of national philharmonics, Mozart's "Requiem", Bach's "Christmas Oratorio", and Mendelssohn's "Lobgesang".
Internationally, he has performed at the Metropolitan Concert Hall Tokyo, Zhuhai Opera House, Nanjing Poly Grand Theatre and Chongqing Grand Theatre, Opera Kaiserslautern Germany, the Auditorium of Zaragoza, the Steri Palace in Palermo, Teatro Verdi Padua Italy, the Concert Hall of the Zurich Music Academy, and the National Theatre Bratislava.
Orsolya Veress – mezzo-soprano
With a broad, enveloping voice and an elegant presence, mezzo-soprano Veress Orsolya is currently a soloist at the Hungarian Opera in Cluj Napoca and a winner of numerous international competitions. Throughout her career, she has had multiple collaborations with the Orchestras of Oradea, Sibiu, Satu Mare, Timișoara, as well as with the Romanian National Opera in Cluj, the State Opera in Bucharest, the State Opera in Timișoara, the Budapest Opera, the State Symphony Orchestra of Mexico; and participated in the Miskolc Opera Festival. In 2017, she was awarded the Albert Annamaria Memorial Ring, and she completed her bachelor's and master's studies at the Gheorghe Dima Music Academy in Cluj Napoca, under the tutelage of Dr. Elena Andrieș Moldovan. Her repertoire includes works by Verdi, Puccini, Ravel, Wagner, and Kodály.
About the Musical Extravaganza season
The concerts are meant to offer the public the joy of meeting representative names of the lyrical scene, in a more intimate setting, which offers a different perspective on the artistic act compared to that on the imposing opera stage, but also to bring the classical genre closer to audiences of all ages. Spectators are invited to admire their favorite soloists in a select atmosphere, complemented by a warm accompaniment, which highlights the performers in a warm and personal light.
The first two seasons of Musical Extravaganza, conducted under the artistic guidance of tenor Ştefan von Korch, included over 20 successful concerts, in which they delighted the audience, together with the host soloist: sopranos Oana Maria Şerban, Cristina Maria Oltean, Daniela Bucşan, tenors George Vîrban, Mihai Urzicana, Andrei Mihalcea, baritones Adrian Mărcan, Lucian Petrean, Alexandru Constantin and Fang Shuang, pianist Alexandru Burcă, accordionist Emy Drăgoi, pianist Bogdana Cocîrlea, and the Orchestra of the National Theatre of Operetta and Musical Ion Dacian – in salon formation and the Orchestra of the Piteşti Philharmonic – the most avant-garde in the country.
