Puccini’s Messa di Gloria – Liverpool Philharmonic Hall

I’ve often wondered what factors go into the decision of programming classical music concerts. Apart from the logistical decisions, on an artistic level, there must be well-known and well-loved pieces to attract the audience’s attention and guarantee ticket-sales, while also drawing in audiences by offering something new and/or challenging. Last night’s concert at the Liverpool Philharmonic managed to resolve this conundrum by a combination of two well-known and one far less well-known piece while triumphing in all three. 

That said, Debussy’s symphonic Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune and what he called the “three symphonic sketches” that form La Mer, now familiar to and much loved by audiences around the world, were new and challenging for the audiences that first heard them in Paris in 1894 and 1905 respectively. Indeed, although lasting only 10 minutes, Prélude à l’après-midi d’un faune, is now considered a seminal piece. Based on based on a poem by Mallarmé, the music describes a faun waking from slumber on a hot summer afternoon, and in the unstructured, dreamlike quality of the music was considered to have rewritten the rule book. Last night, from the first, fluid melody from the flute till the final notes died away, the audience was kept spellbound. 

La Mer was less well received when first performed, perhaps with audiences expecting something more akin to Mendlessohn’s Hebridean Overture. However, its popularity is now in no doubt as it evokes the sea in different moods through complex rhythms and harmonies, which were exquisitely played by the orchestra.  Domingo Hindoyan demonstrated his control of both orchestra and audience, with a swift hand movement putting a stop to some tentative applause between the three sections.

After the interval, we were treated to the less well-known Puccini’s Messa di Gloria. Puccini stated: “The Almighty touched me with his little finger and said, ‘Write for the theatre – mind, only for the theatre!” and while this is a religious work, it displays the sense of drama and much of the theatricality inherent in so many of the rites and rituals of the Roman Catholic church and that would become a feature of Puccini’s operas, with some of the themes from the Messa appearing in his later works. Both Polish baritone Adam Kutny and Mexican tenor Jesús León, the latter a firm favourite with Phil audience, also highlighted the operatic element of this work, which deserves to be better known. While the piece may perhaps lack the maturity of his later works, it is marked by extreme musicality and is full of emotion – longing, poignancy, as well as joy and lightness – that were beautifully conveyed by the Philharmonic choir, surely one of the best non-professional choirs in the country. While the ending seemed somewhat abrupt, the audience soon showed their appreciation with enthusiastic and well-deserved applause.

For those who missed the live performance, it will be broadcast on 14th December 2022 at 19:30 on Radio 3.

Reviewer: Johanna Roberts

Reviewed: 24th November 2022

North West End UK Rating: ★★★★★