About the event
War Requiem
The opening of the 8th Winter Festival will be marked by a performance of Benjamin Britten's War Requiem, one of the most powerful anti-war works of the 20th century, which combines a Latin mass for the dead with the poetry of Wilfred Owen. Under the direction of Charles Dutoit, the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir, the Vienna Boys' Choir, the Kaunas National Assembly and soloists Irina Lungu, Ian Bostridge and Matthias Goerne will perform.
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Photo by: Darja Štravs Tisu
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Production
Performers
Interesting facts
- In 2019 the US Library of Congress selected the War Requiem for preservation in the National Recording Registry as a work that is “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant”
- The concert will take place under the direction of the Swiss conductor Charles Dutoit, former artistic director and principal conductor of the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, who regularly collaborates with prestigious orchestras and soloists around the world
- The Vienna Boys’ Choir is one of the most famous choirs in the world; active for more than five centuries, the choir was founded in the late fifteenth century by Jurij Slatkonja, a Slovene
- The Kaunas State Choir has performed several times at the Ljubljana Festival – in 1998 under the direction of an astonishing Yehudi Menuhin
- Alongside his interpretations of the classical repertoire, Ian Bostridge is particularly renowned for his performances of twentieth-century and contemporary music, including Britten’s War Requiem
More information
The 8th Winter Festival will open with the monumental War Requiem by the English composer Benjamin Britten. Scored for choirs, soloists and orchestra, it is considered one of the most convincing and emotionally charged works of the twentieth century. It was written for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, built to replace its fourteenth-century predecessor, which was destroyed by bombing in the Second World War. The War Requiem juxtaposes the text of the Latin Requiem Mass with extra-liturgical poems by the English war poet Wilfred Owen, offering a vivid portrayal of the horrors of the front in the First World War. Britten combined these elements together into an expressive and powerful work. A committed pacifist, Britten created an important anti-war message with this work, one that still resonates today in a world that is once again torn by wars.
The War Requiem will be performed by the Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra, the resident orchestra of the 2025 Ljubljana Festival, conducted by the legendary maestro Charles Dutoit, a frequent visitor to the Slovenian capital. The soloists will be Irina Lungu, with a voice described by the New York Times as “a shimmering soprano of attractive size” with “brightness”, “bloom and warmth”, tenor Ian Bostridge, an acknowledged Britten specialist, and acclaimed baritone Matthias Goerne, known both for his performances on the opera stage and for his studio recordings. The Slovenian Philharmonic Choir will be joined by the Kaunas State Choir from Lithuania, distinguished by its artistic quality and rigorous approach and frequently entrusted with premiere performances of new works, and the famous Wiener Sängerknaben, founded in the thirteenth century.