Concert
Darmstadt Concert Choir | Deutschland

Friedenskonzert:
75 Jahre Kriegsende

Peace Concert: 75 Years after the War
»War Requiem«
by Benjamin Britten

Natalia Ushakova
Photo: Petra Benovsky
Ian Bostridge
Photo: Sim Canetty-Clarke
Oliver Zwarg
Photo: Sebastian Hoppe

On the 8th of May, under the auspices of Hessian Prime Minister Volker Bouffier, Landtag President Boris Rhein and Wiesbaden's Mayor Gert-Uwe Mende, a special peace concert takes place to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the war, with a performance of Britten's "War Requiem", Op. 66. With soloists from Russia, Britain and Germany, the cast is similar to that of the world premiere, which took place on 30 May 1962 in the newly built Coventry Cathedral, located next to the destroyed church.

Britten's work combines Latin requiem texts with poems by English poet Wilfred Owen, who died in 1918 at the early age of 25, only a few days before the end of the First World War. The "War Requiem" is not only a funeral mass in the literal sense of the word, but much rather a strong reminder to the survivors. As such, Britten does not denounce the war, but rather connects memories of the First and Second World Wars through the work. In the end, what remains is the hope of a better and more peaceful world.

Cast

Artistic Director Wolfgang Seeliger
Special Address Ministerpräsident Volker Bouffier, Landtagspräsident Boris Rhein, Oberbürgermeister der Landeshauptstadt Wiesbaden Gert-Uwe Mende
Soprano Natalia Ushakova
Tenor Ian Bostridge
Baritone Oliver Zwarg
Limburger Domsingknaben, Maîtrise des Chartreux – Knabenchor der Chartreux Lyon, Konzertchor Darmstadt, Beethoven Akademie Orchester Krakau

Partners & Supporters

Supported by numerous institutions, the Peace Concert takes place in Wiesbaden, Hanau and Darmstadt. Special mention should be made of the State of Hesse, the Hessian State Parliament, the concert venues Wiesbaden, Hanau and Darmstadt (8, 9 & 10 May 2020), Kulturfonds Frankfurt-RheinMain, as well as the Dotter Foundation.