By Janelle Gelfand
The Cincinnati Enquirer

No sooner had music director James Conlon dropped his arm at the conclusion of Verdi's Requiem Friday night, than the bravos began.

The 130th year of the Cincinnati May Festival opened on a dramatic note with an evening of Verdi's sacred music, culminating in the composer's glorious Requiem. Its sweeping grandeur was fitting; the season coincides this year with the 125th anniversary of Music Hall, built for this festival.

All of the May Festival's charming traditions were in place: a full house of 2,887 listeners, May flowers throughout the hall and, at the conclusion, two tinyflower girls (Marissa and Caroline Shor) delivering bouquets to the soloists.

And as always, part of the joy was the visual splendor. Arrayed onstage for the Requiem were the 150-voice May Festival Chorus, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and an excellent quartet of soloists.

Verdi's Messa da Requiem is often called his finest opera. Indeed, its scenes are so vivid, some might be mistaken for scenes in opera. Verdi wrote some of the solos and ensembles with specific singers in mind.

Conlon waited until the hall was hushed before the cellos intoned their quiet introduction to the "Requiem aeternam." Leading without a score, he seemed to feel every note and word, and inspired stunning playing in the orchestra. His reading was direct and powerful, yet it had a pervading warmth and a deep sense of the work's spirituality.

The massive work was well paced, and its high-drama moments were calculated for maximum impact. The "Dies Irae" exploded with terror; one felt the awe and the power of the offstage brass fanfares in the "Tuba mirum."

Quieter moments were equally compelling: the radiance of the "Lux aeterna," for instance, or the wrenching expression of the "Lacrymosa," a lament for soloists and chorus, accompanied by throbbing cellos. William Winstead's bassoon solo in the "Quid sum miser" added a haunting note to this lamenting trio.

The soloists, soprano Kallen Esperian, mezzo Marianne Cornetti, tenor Frank Lopardo and bass James Morris were well-matched, even though Cornetti, who once studied at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, was a last-minute substitution. (She stepped in for Luciana d'Intino, who had visa problems.)

Morris, the world's reigning Wotan, projected a firm, rich voice and powerful presence in the "Confutatis," and was warmly expressive through each of his solos. Cornetti was equally inspiring, and communicated with emotion, especially in her aria, "Liber scriptus."

In her festival debut, Esperian made a stunning impression in her big moment, the "Libera me," one of the evening's most operatic moments. Tenor Lopardo, also here for the first time, displayed an arresting lyric tenor.

The chorus, superbly prepared by Robert Porco, was impressive, whether singing Verdi's great choral outbursts or alternating seamlessly with soloists in the "Agnus Dei." The "Sanctus," a brilliant double fugue, was wonderful for its lightness and pointed quality; the "Rex tremendae" was an impassioned dialogue between soloists and chorus.

The evening opened with Verdi's Stabat Mater and Te Deum. The chorus delivered a deeply felt performance and Conlon led with wonderful attention to detail. He emphasized the drama here as well, from the serene chant of the Te Deum, to the earth shattering "Sanctus" which followed.

From her perch in the gallery, soprano Cynthia Haymon performed her cameo beautifully.

E-mail jgelfand@enquirer.com