Review: Verdi Requiem ****

Huddersfield Choral Society opened their 175th birthday season with Verdi's Requiem, a blood-and- thunder piece deeply rooted in their tradition. They were accompanied by the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, their ally for many of the 175 years, under their chief conductor Vasily Petrenko, a musical shock and awe man himself.

Verdi's harmonic changes, counterpoint and subtle tricks of the theatre could not be heard, but such considerations were swept aside by the "Choral" in their full-on, down-to-earth

tonal pomp.

Petrenko milked the melodrama with unashamed pauses and rubatos, dynamic levels were either devilishly loud or not very soft, and the unrefined mood was matched by the RLPO, who can be a blunt instrument in a rousing cause such as this.

Actually, the orchestra's wind and brass were unintentionally crude throughout. Their playing of the Requiem's final brass chords was ragged, which is worrying, as they have been working for their chief conductor for four years and should know by now where he wants the beat.

Bass soloist James Creswell was deeply operatic and flexible in tone as befits a consummate man of the theatre, tenor John Daszak seemed less relaxed vocally but nonetheless effective, and soprano and mezzo Alwyn Mellor and Patrica Bardon conspired to be endearingly over-the-top and melodramatic.

Huddersfield Town Hall