{"id":54852,"date":"2024-11-25T10:43:01","date_gmt":"2024-11-25T08:43:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=54852"},"modified":"2024-11-25T10:43:01","modified_gmt":"2024-11-25T08:43:01","slug":"israeli-opera-benjamin-brittens-war-requiem","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.midnighteast.com\/mag\/?p=54852","title":{"rendered":"Israeli Opera: Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Israeli Opera will present a staged production of Benjamin Britten\u2019s moving War Requiem, Op. 66, conducted by Alexander Joel, and directed by Ido Ricklin. Performances of the orchestral and choral work, with over 200 participants, will take place on December 6, 8, 10, and 13, 2024. The War Requiem will be performed in lieu of the opera Peter Grimes, which was scheduled for December, and is being postponed due to the war.<\/p>\n

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Maestro Alexander Joel\/Photo courtesy of the Israeli Opera<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Maestro Alexander Joel will be coming to Israel to conduct the Requiem, following his recent performance at the Royal Opera House in London where he conducted La Traviata. The production will be directed by Ido Ricklin, the Israeli Opera\u2019s Dramaturg, and one of my favorite directors, whose repertoire at the Israeli Opera includes L\u2019italiana in Algeri, Alcina, and most recently the magnificent opera Theodor, for which he wrote the libretto.<\/p>\n

The Requiem is considered one of the most important works of the twentieth century, and Britten\u2019s greatest work. The Israeli Opera production will include over 220 artists, among them \u2013 8 soloists, and two orchestras, a full symphony orchestra and a chamber orchestra, a 90-person chorus, and a chorus of children with 30 singers.<\/p>\n

The Requiem, which was first performed in May 1962, was commissioned for the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral, built after the original 14th<\/sup> century structure was destroyed by bombing in World War II. Britten, in a bold move, interspersed the traditional Latin texts of the requiem with poems by Wilfred Owen (1893 \u2013 1918), who served in the 21 Special Air Service Regiment (known as Artists Rifles), and was killed in action a week before the end of World War I. Although relatively unknown at the time of his death, Owen has since become known as one of the greatest poets of the First World War, with poems that depicted the horrors and ravages of the war.<\/p>\n

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Director Ido Ricklin\/Photo: Liran Levy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the Israeli Opera production, the liturgical music will be performed by two sopranos, the expanded chorus, and the symphony orchestra, while Owen\u2019s poems, will have a more intimate rendition, by three tenors, three baritones, and the chamber orchestra. The children\u2019s chorus, with their sweet voices, is a reminder of the loss of innocent young lives in war. Although originally written for three soloists who perform different roles, Director Ido Ricklin has chosen an interpretation in which each soloist represents a different figure. Ricklin stated: \u201cWithin the powerful mighty tremendous song of the chorus, we shine a light on several figures \u2013 men, women, and children. A series of human stories within the tumult of war \u2013 the loss, the pain, the compassion, and the hope for healing. From the anguished cries over those who have been killed, to a chilling encounter between a soldier killed in the war and the man he killed a day earlier.\u201d<\/p>\n

More on the opera (in Hebrew) from Director Ido Ricklin:<\/p>\n

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