Brahms German Requiem

OK, well it's not opera and it's not the winter opera season anymore, but last weekend, I did experience a performance of Brahms German Requiem at Tanglewood conducted by James Levine. The experience started for me while having lunch outside at a cafe in downtown Lenox. I saw Maestro Levine walk into the grocery store/deli across the street and emerge with various items. I doffed my Red Sox cap to him as he drove away. He waved in response. As for the performance, it is difficult for me to say anything less than glowing regarding the BSO. There was a great deal of power in the performance and one can see the Romantic in Brahms. It's interesting for me to compare the Brahms Requiem with the Mozart Requiem. The Brahms seems to move in waves that pick you up and carry you along till the current wave crests, there is a lull and then the next wave comes along, builds and crests. Mozart is more orderly. The power stays within the individual section of the Mass. Tanglewood has installed screens that provide close up views during the performance. It was interesting to see the individual members of the chorus articulating the words and to see various members caught up in the power of the Requiem. Maestro Levine, himself, exuded much of the same passion in his facial expressions. Unlike other conductors, e.g. Bernstein whose entire body reflects the emotion of the piece, Levine now conducts sitting down and his hand motions have a small, but powerful range. During the middle of the Requiem one could hear the thunder of storms moving across the Berkshire hills. That added another dimension to the performance.