Giuseppe Verdi - the composer of dozens of operas, including such successes as La Traviata, Aida, Rigoletto and Il Trovatore - hardly ever tried his hand at composing outside the opera. However, the death of the eminent Italian poet Alessandro Manzoni, a private friend of Verdi, moved the composer to write Messa da Requiem (this is the full title) in his honour. Verdi's work, although developed from Christian ideas and symbols, is not a typical funeral mass in the liturgical sense. The work was created spontaneously and is a genuine expression of sadness and grief inn response to the death of a friend. In fact, the sadness so great that Verdi was unable to attend the poet's funeral. It's not surprising that Requiem often has such an intense impact on audiences, and the sincerity of emotions that accompanied the composer during its creation can still be heard in every measure played by the orchestra and in every note sung. The Grand Theatre of Łódź invites you to experience this masterpiece on April 2, 2023 - on Palm Sunday at 19:00 - performed by the theatre's soloists, choir and orchestra under the baton of Rafał Janiak. Since the date is also the anniversary of the death of the great Pole John Paul II, the Grand Theatre is dedicating the work in his memory.