Rufus Wainwright: Dream Requiem
June 14, 2024
· Auditorium de Radio France
· Radio France
· 90 minutes
| |
· Written by: Rufus Wainwright
· Literature: Lord Byron
“Dream Requiem” is the amalgamation of two musical and creative ideas that have been developing side by side for a long time and brought together singularly dramatic experience of the Covid 19 pandemic shutting down the world. Rufus Wainwrights' fascination with the form of the Requiem has been going back to early teenage days where he heard Giuseppe Verdi's Requiem for the first time and was transformed as a human being and shown an artistic path that he could follow into his future. He used opera as his secret weapon in his pop music and later wrote two operas, Prima Donna and Hadrian. To write a Requiem during the time of Covid seemed like a very challenging but at the same time incredibly appropriate idea. A Requiem for the people we have lost in this crisis, for the past from which we are cut off and for the future which we do not yet know how to connect to, a Requiem for the human touch, togetherness and the human voice which all had become dangerous and contagious during the pandemic.
Meryl Streep (narrator), Anna Prohaska (soprano), Mikko Franck (conductor), Orchestra Philharmonique du Radio France
I am more than excited and grateful to announce that Meryl Streep will be performing in the world premiere of my Dream Requiem on June 14th at the Auditorium de Radio France alongside the great soprano Anna Prohaska and the orchestra and choir of Radio France under the baton of Mikko Franck. The concert will be broadcast live on France Musique and ARTE Concert. Like probably the rest of the world, I have admired Meryl Streep ever since I saw the first movie with her. I have had the pleasure of getting to know her personally over the last few years and apart from being the most incredible actress, she is also one of the most warm hearted human beings I know. To have her be part of the world creation of the Dream Requiem is an honour beyond anything I could have hoped for. Thank you, Meryl, for trusting me and giving your incomparable voice, heart and spirit to this piece. (Rufus Wainwright, June 03, 2024)
