Concert Britten. War Requiem. On the 100th anniversary of the First World War. World famous Mariinsky Ballet and Opera Theatre - Opera and Concert Hall
Schedule for Britten. War Requiem. On the 100th anniversary of the First World War. 2022
Principal Chorus Master: Andrei Petrenko Composer: Benjamin Britten
Orchestra: Mariinsky Theatre Symphony Orchestra
The Mariinsky Chorus and Orchestra Principal Chorus Master:
Andrei Petrenko Conductor: Valery Gergiev
The War Requiem was written by Benjamin Britten for
the inauguration of the new cathedral in Coventry, built
next to the ruins of the old St Michael’s Cathedral
which was bombed during World War II. The first performance took place
on 30 May 1962. By then, the composer had already written
a vast number of choral works, both secular and religious, though
the War Requiem was to be the greatest of all.
When the Luftwaffe blitzed London and wiped Coventry off the map,
Britten was not in the United Kingdom (from April 1939
to April 1942 he lived in the USA). The truth
of the war came into his work with the poetry
of Wilfred Owen – “a convinced pacifist with a burning sense
of duty.” In World War I Owen had enlisted as a volunteer
on the frontlines and died exactly one week before the signing
of the Armistice. His poetry is used in
the War Requiem alongside the Latin text
of a mass for the dead and argues with it:
the World Wars of the 20th century were unlike any
wars that had come before. Britten assigned the canonical text
of his requiem to soprano and mixed chorus singing together with
the symphony orchestra as well as a children’s chorus accompanied by
the organ. “The voices of today” – tenor and baritone –
sing Owen’s verse to the accompaniment of a chamber ensemble
(conducted by the composer himself at the premiere). It is only
at the very end – when the Latin text speaks of eternal
peace and the English text of enemies making peace after death –
that all the performers come together. Anna Bulychоva
Schedule for Britten. War Requiem. On the 100th anniversary of the First World War. 2022
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