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Britten War Requiem
21 March 2009, 7.00pm
Symphony Hall, Birmingham
Emma Bell, soprano
Ian Bostridge, tenor
Simon Keenlyside, baritone
Antonio Pappano, conductor
The Royal Opera Chorus
The Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Tiffin Boys’ Choir
5.45pm pre-concert talk
For information on advanced booking, click:
http://www.thsh.co.uk/bics-2008-09
The War requiem is one of Britten’s most powerful works, born out of his fiercely held pacifism. Composed at the height of the Cold War, it spoke directly to a nation living under the threat of nuclear war. The work mixes powerful settings of the poems of Wilfred Owen, describing the horrors of war, with the words of the Requiem mass, and ultimately offers the hope of reconciliation. No tenor is more associated with Britten’s music at the moment than Ian Bostridge, heard here alongside the warm baritone of Simon Keenlyside and leading young soprano Emma Bell.