REVIEWS

… at the Teatro Sociale in Rovigo on the evening of 30 April 2013, in a production staged by “Controluce del teatro d’ombre” with the voices Francesca Lombardi Mazzulli (Didone), Mauro Borgioni (Aeneas), Elena Biscuola (Sorceress), Teresa Nesci (Belinda) and Michele Concato (Sailor), the audience enjoyed a rare moment of artistic emotion. Coro Maghini, chorus mistress Elena Camoletto, Academia Montis Regalis Orchestra, and director Claudio Chiavazza integrated the success of the work. 

Rilling’s interpretation that was anything but impartial, full of subtleties and igniting in accordance with the text; simply remember how he carefully allowed the melodic lines to emerge in the final chorus, which tend mournfully to the bass, and giving such an impetuous importance to the choruses of the mobs that demanded the blood of Christ. Coro Maghini is excellent here, prepared by Claudio Chiavazza, in the entire range of expressions from the liturgy of the final choruses to the great, dramatic frescoes.

…. und die 26 farbenprächtigen Stimmen der Chorgemeinschaft aus Turin, das behände Agieren der Organistin Mariangiola Martello sowie die mit konzentrierter Gestaltungsenergie ausgestatte Continuo-Gruppe sorgten für Seelenschauer und Ergriffenheit. Die Lobgesänge, changierend zwischen anrührender Schlichtheit und ungemein packender Empathie, dienten zur Erbauung und Versenkung gleichermaßen. Die Balance der Stimmen und Instrumente war von einer bestechenden Transparenz. Die sinnlichen und dramatischen Steigerungen summierten sich zu ergreifend klanglichem Leuchten

The concert began and ended with Gregorian chants, but what was heard in between was of extraordinary beauty. The Accademia Montis Regalis was directed by Alessandro De Marchi, who was able to maximize the dynamics of his orchestra and together with the choir we heard divine sounds exude from the hall. In addition to an excellent choir, under the direction of Claudio Chiavazza, the soloists Roberta Invernizzi, Robin Johannsen (sopranos), Martin Oro (countertenor), Markus Brutscher (tenor) and Antonio Abete (bass) gave a performance of a level that is rarely heard. 

.... Here is a way to celebrate an anniversary in a novel way… Coro Maghini and organist Luca Benedicti did not choose an ordinary piece, but rather the unique Via Crucis, in which Liszt recaptures the barren severity of Gregorian chant, Lutheran chorales and writes organ pieces to comment on the fourteen Stations of the suffering of Christ. … The choir, limpid in its vocal delivery and appreciable overall, restored the rare piece in an appropriate style, inserting it into a context of 19th-century choral music. Compared with choice of several coeval motets by the same Liszt, such as the two "Ave Maria" selections and the "Ave maris stella", this Via Crucis is confirmed as radical, even more so when combined with the balsam of Brahms and Mendelssohn, offered as encores.

.... Under Alessandro De Marchi's careful direction the Academia Montis Regalis Orchestra was appreciated for the lightness of sound and the expertise of the soloists … An orchestra that was much more convincing than the emblazoned colleagues from Amsterdam that opened the concert season. Another note worthy of praise was the chorus, named after the illustrious Ruggero Maghini, for many years the upright master of the RAI Orchestra Chorus of Turin. Just a little more than thirty choristers, who sing with the right pace, without heaviness, almost taking the musical colleagues by the hand in the game of imitation.

.... Longer applause than usual for this concert, Britten's War Requiem, a work of irresistible emotion, exalted by a fitting interpretation: under the direction of Juanjo Mena, the orchestra played very well and Coro Maghini, directed by Claudio Chiavazza, demonstrated uniformity and quality of sound… in the most beautiful concert so far in this year's RAI Symphonic Orchestra season.

.... And then something quite stupendous and rare: the chorus, in this case, a double chorus; a weapon with which Scarlatti in a state of grace unleashes Biblical scenes of war and lament. Roberta Invernizzi's David is excellent … the orchestra had a perfectly meaty sound and Claudio Chiavazza's Coro Maghini is always better and better. Soon to be released on CD.

.... Definitely fervid, the performance of Mahler's Second Symphony, symbolically chosen to celebrate the expected rebirth. Frühbeck de Burgos … gave, above all, free release of the inexhaustible dramatic tension of the two extreme movements, governing the chaotic accumulation in the writing in an effective and captivating manner. The chorus was magnificent, directed by Claudio Chiavazza.

.... The evening coincided with the inaugural concert of the RAI National Symphonic Orchestra, which enriched the partially new audience, offered a vivacious performance of Beethoven's Missa Solemnis, natural continuation of the complete cycle of the nine symphonies performed in the spring. On the podium was Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, on the risers was the Ruggero Maghini Philharmonic Choir, well trained by Claudio Chiavazza, in one of the most difficult tests of all choral repertoire.