Riccardo Muti Leads The Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and Distinguished Soloists in Verdi’s “Requiem Mass” in June
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra Association (CSOA) announces the addition of a fourth performance of Verdi’s Requiem Mass with Riccardo Muti, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra’s Music Director Emeritus for Life, leading the Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Chorus and distinguished soloists on Friday, June 20, at 7:30 p.m. This is in addition to the previously announced performances at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, June 19; Saturday, June 21, and Tuesday, June 24. The featured soloists are Elena Guseva (soprano), Marianne Crebassa (mezzo-soprano), John Osborn (tenor) and Ildebrando D’Arcangelo (bass-baritone), and the Chicago Symphony Chorus is prepared by guest chorus director Donald Palumbo.
Muti recently led critically acclaimed concerts during a U.S. tour with the CSO, garnering praise for performances of Italian repertoire by Bellini, Donizetti, Martucci and Verdi, and is widely considered today’s preeminent interpreter of the music of Giuseppe Verdi. Muti first conducted Verdi’s Requiem Mass with the CSO and Chorus at Symphony Center in January 2009, during his first concerts as the Orchestra’s music director designate. A live recording of the work from these performances was released in 2010 on the CSO Resound label and later was recognized with two Grammy Awards for Best Classical Album and Best Choral Performance. Muti and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus reprised the work on October 10, 2013, as part of a concert and livestream broadcast celebrating the 200th anniversary of Verdi’s birth. Verdi’s Requiem Mass has also been part of international tour performances for Muti and the CSO, including those at Vienna’s Musikverein in 2014 and 2020, and at Tokyo’s Bunka Kaikan in 2019. The June 2025 performances represent the first Chicago performances of Verdi’s Requiem Mass for Muti with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Chorus and soloists since November 2018.
