Masterpiece week Britten
wo 8 - za 11 nov 2017
- British pacifist Benjamin Britten composed the work in 1961-62
- for the premiere, Britten deliberately chose a Russian, a British and a German soloist
- traditional Mass texts and poems by ‘war poet’ Wilfred Owen are set to its music
- after the premiere, at Britten’s request, the work was not applauded
- for an immense line-up: soprano, tenor en baritone, choir, boys choir, organ, orchestra and chamber orchestra
- in 1967, exactly fifty years after the battle of Passchendaele, Britten conducted the War Requiem in Ieper, in the presence of King Boudewijn and Queen Fabiola
