With this concert, broadcast live on March 14, 2022, New York's
Metropolitan Opera became one of the first musical organizations to respond decisively to the war in Ukraine. The concert featured the
Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and
Chorus, conducted by
Yannick Nezet-Seguin, with soloists, and it was quite a stirring event. As with the concert itself, sales of this album will benefit Ukraine relief efforts. Buyers will get some excellent performances for their money. There is a mix of patriotic pieces, two Ukrainian (the country's national anthem, plus the
Prayer for Ukraine written by composer
Valentin Silvestrov during the 2014 demonstrations in the country) and one Italian (the "Va, pensiero" chorus from
Verdi's
Nabucco, which long served as an unofficial anthem of Italian unification). There are also pieces referring to more generalized tragedy (
Barber's
Adagio for strings, Op. 11, and the
Four Last Songs of
Richard Strauss). Perhaps these were included because, at the time, a quick and unfavorable end to the war still seemed possible. Soprano
Lise Davidsen seems less confident than usual in the
Strauss, but the music returns to a more vibrant assertion of the ideal of freedom at the end, with the finale of
Beethoven's
Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125 ("Choral"). This is an impressive performance of the piece, with some younger singers just hitting their strides (try the opening vocal turn by bass
Ryan Speedo Green for a sample). Apart from the financial benefits to Ukraine given by purchasers of this album, it is an interesting document in its own right. ~ James Manheim
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