By Daniel Buckwalter
(#commonmanatthesymphony)

Every writer should get a sendoff like this.

Alessandro Francesco Tommaso Antonio Manzoni was an Italian poet and novelist who dabbled in his country’s political culture and wrote extensively about it. His best known work was the novel The Betrothed, published in 1827 and highly regarded still in Italian literary circles.

I imagine Manzoni was well loved by family and friends. He certainly was admired and respected by friends and colleagues, including the composer Giuseppe Verdi. He served art and his country well, and he should be saluted.

Yet Manzoni’s greatest contribution to art came after his death in 1873 at the age of 88 years in the city of his birth, Milan. One year later came the debut of the enduring, brilliant, and much-loved Requiem that Verdi composed in his honor. Many may not recall Manzoni, but classical music fans have adored the Requiem ever since.

This point was driven home with ferocity Thursday night at the Hult Center when the Eugene Symphony Orchestra, under the direction of Francesco Lecce-Chong — along with four vocal soloists and the Eugene Symphony Chorus under the stewardship of Dr. Sharon J. Paul — performed the Requiem with the gusto it deserves to a packed Silva Concert Hall.

It’s a glorious, exhausting 90-minute piece. Lecce-Chong certainly looked all-in at the podium after the final note, and the standing ovation afterward was well deserved.

Verdi’s Requiem, I believe, should be absorbed as you would read a novel. The character buildups are painted with soft melodies. The plot moves to the sound of trumpets, which ringed the Silva Concert Hall and lent even more of a solemn touch. The plot twists are burned with tympani and bass drums.

The stark contrasts are dramatic.

Given Catholicism’s strong political and social presence in Italy at the time of the Requiem, the religious tone was overwhelming. Indeed, I felt I was sitting in a familiar Lutheran church throughout.

The more than 130-strong Eugene Symphony Chorus deserves a bow. It was magnificent. So, too, were the four superb soloists: soprano Katie Van Kooten, mezzo-soprano Phyllis Pancella, tenor Kang Wang and bass Michael Dean.

Pancella was a late addition after Nancy Maultsby withdrew for health reasons. Reportedly, Pancella was spotted after Thursday night’s performance singing Karaoke at The Barn Light. I can only imagine she wanted a touch of levity after a serious, solemn evening. I’m sorry I missed it, because I could have used it, too.

Thursday night was the Eugene Symphony Orchestra’s symphonic finale of the 2018-19 season. From tributes to Leonard Bernstein in the fall to Verdi’s Requiem in the spring, it was a season to remember.

See you on Sept. 26, when the Eugene Symphony opens its 2019-20 season with Peter Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony.