Last night’s TSO performance of Britten’s War Requiem was a bit of a mixed bag.  There were things to like but, overall, I was not greatly moved; which I expect to be by this work, and it seemed like a very long evening for one work of modest length.

Let’s start with the positives.Tatiana Pavlovskaya was as good a soprano soloist as I have heard in this piece.  She sang with enough power to be a distinct voice in all but the very densest sections of the music while maintaining an admirable sweetness of tone without the almost customary screechiness.  The Toronto Children’s Chorus was excellent.  Toby Spence’s diction was top notch with every word clear.  There was some really nice playing from the chamber orchestra, especially the strings.  The last fifteen minutes from the blood curdling Libera Me to “let us sleep now” had the right balance of terror and lyricism though, even here, there could have been more drama.  Where was the frisson at “I am the enemy you killed my friend”? Continue reading →