Mozart: REQUIEM FROM SARAJEVO (WAR, 1994), Z. MEHTA, J. CARERRAS, R. RAIMONDI, C.GASDIA, I- KOMLOSI

Sarajevo je još bilo pod opsadom, svakodnevno izloženo granatama i snajperskoj vatri, kada je, 19. juna 1994. godine, u ruševinama sarajevske Vijećnice održan koncert Sarajevske filharmonije pod dirigentskom palicom maestra Zubina Mehte. Izveden je Mozartov ‘Requiem’, a solisti koji su nastupili na koncertu su: Jose Carerras, Ruggero Raimondi, Cecilia Gasdia i Ildiko Komlosi Cecilia Gasdia Cecilia Gasdia ... Soprano Ildikó Komlósi Ildikó Komlósi ... Mezzo-Soprano (as Ildiko Komlosi) José Carreras José Carreras ... Tenor Ruggero Raimondi Ruggero Raimondi ... Baritone Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta ... Self - Conductor Sarajevska Filharmonija Sarajevska Filharmonija ... Themselves - Orchestra (as Philharmonic Orchestra Sarajevo) Hor Opere Narodnog Pozorista Sarajevo Hor Opere Narodnog Pozorista Sarajevo ... Themselves - Choir (as National Theatre Choir Sarajevo) Produced by Mario Dradi ... program by Francesco Stochino Weiss ... program byCinematography by Giancarlo Toscani ... director of photographyProduction Design by Bruno Di Venanzio Music Department Giuseppe Mega ... assistant conductor Zubin Mehta ... conductor Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart ... music by (as W. A. Mozart) Stefano Pellegrino ... assistant conductorAdditional Crew Cinzia Cingolani ... production office Carlo Pallieri ... production director Sarajevo Journal; In the Very Ashes of War, a Requiem for 10,000 By Chuck Sudetic June 20, 1994 Credit...The New York Times Archives See the article in its original context from June 20, 1994, Section A, Page 4Buy Reprints New York Times subscribers* enjoy full access to TimesMachine—view over 150 years of New York Times journalism, as it originally appeared. SUBSCRIBE *Does not include Crossword-only or Cooking-only subscribers. About the Archive This is a digitized version of an article from The Times’s print archive, before the start of online publication in 1996. To preserve these articles as they originally appeared, The Times does not alter, edit or update them. Occasionally the digitization process introduces transcription errors or other problems; we are continuing to work to improve these archived versions. Some 10,000 people, the vast majority civilians and many of them children, have died or disappeared during the Serbian nationalists' bombardment of Sarajevo since the Bosnian war began more than two years ago. Tonight, in the charred shell of the National Library, which was destroyed by Serbian gunners, Zubin Mehta conducted Sarajevo's orchestra and chorus in a televised benefit performance of Mozart's Requiem, his Mass for the dead. "We are all completely devastated by what we have seen here," Mr. Mehta said. "There are quite a few members of the orchestra for whom we are playing the Requiem," he added. One orchestra member was killed during the bombardment, which ended in February under the threat of NATO air strikes, and six died of natural causes in that time. "When the chorus sang 'Amen' this afternoon, I was with tears in my eyes," Mr. Mehta said after a rehearsal on Saturday that drew a standing-room-only crowd at the National Theater. "We have come for you to bless us more than we to bless you." ADVERTISEMENT Continue reading the main story The tenor Jose Carreras, who took part in today's performance, said, "This is a real privilege for us, to show the people from this part of the world that the international community is behind them." Thanks for reading The Times. Subscribe to The Times The hulk of the library, one of the most surreal ruins in this city of twisted steel, pocked walls and shattered glass, must be one of the eeriest venues ever chosen for a performance of the Requiem. Once Sarajevo's City Hall, the building was built by the Austrians in a style mixing Oriental and classical features. "We wanted to highlight what happened at the library," said Francesco Stochino, a Venice-based producer who helped organize the concert. City workers rigged spotlights from a balcony around the octagonal main hall and erected a tiered stage over the piles of brick, cinder and the ash of tons of paper on the floor. At the performance tonight, the evening sunlight sparkled through a shattered stained-glass window above the hall and the music wafted out of the empty windows.