Overview
Britten War Requiem
Brett Mitchell, conductor
Amanda Majeski, soprano
Nicholas Phan, tenor
James Westman, baritone
Colorado Symphony Chorus, Duain Wolfe, director
Colorado Children's Chorale, Deborah DeSantis, artistic director
BRITTEN War Requiem, Op. 66
On the eve of the 100th anniversary of the November 11, 1918 Armistice that signaled the end of World War I, your Colorado Symphony presents a once-in-a-generation performance of Benjamin Britten’s masterpiece, War Requiem. Commissioned to mark the opening of a new cathedral for the city of Coventry in 1962 after a bombing destroyed the previous cathedral in 1940, Britten, a lifelong pacifist and conscientious objector during World War II, created this very public expression of his beliefs about ‘war and the pity of war.’ In a master stroke, he included texts by the First World War poet Wilfred Owen, providing an ironic commentary on the classic Latin Requiem Mass while serving as a reminder to future generations on the wickedness of war. Joined by the Colorado Symphony Chorus, the Colorado Children’s Chorale, and three vocal soloists, Brett Mitchell leads your Colorado Symphony in its first performance of this monumental undertaking since 2001.
