On 20 and 21 February 2025, as part of the 8th Winter Festival, Cankarjev Dom will host two performances of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, Op. 66. Charles Dutoit will conduct:
Slovenian Philharmonic Orchestra
Slovenian Philharmonic Choir
Kaunas State Choir
Glasbena Matica Ljubljana Boys’ Choir
Olga Peretyatko, soprano
Ian Bostridge, tenor
Matthias Goerne, baritone
Boys whose voices have not yet broken and who are at least eight years old are invited to take part in a voice trial for the Glasbena Matica Boys’ Choir.
The voice trial will take place on Monday, 9 September 2024 in the Glasbena Matica building, under the direction of choir director Tadeja Kreča and singing teacher Tanja Rupnik. Auditioners will be asked to sing a folk song of their choice and the attached brief excerpt from the War Requiem (Requiem aeternam, pp. 8–11).
Considered Britten’s magnum opus, the War Requiem is a powerful musical message through which the composer clearly expressed his pacifist views and his faith in human compassion. Following its premiere performance in Coventry in 1962, in a symbolic act of reconciliation after the Second World War, the work later acquired the character of a musical protest against all wars. It is regularly performed by prominent artists and the most famous orchestras around the world.
In it, the Latin setting of the requiem is interpolated with the anti-war poems of Wilfred Owen, which act as a contrast to and ironic commentary on the traditional text of the requiem Mass. The work is characterised by a tripartite division of content and performers. Two soldiers (tenor, baritone) sing the anti-war poems accompanied by a chamber orchestra and represent the experience of an individual caught in war. The soprano, chorus and full orchestra respond with an expression of mourning through the interpretation of the liturgical text. The ethereal sound of the children’s choir accompanied by an organ symbolises the distance that separates everything pure and innocent from the madness of human wars.
Unlike traditional requiems, the work does not end in soothing tones but instead warns us not to be lulled by visions of peace, since humankind will never entirely escape the danger of war. Yet art will continue to remind us of the possibility of peace and reconciliation.
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The children’s and youth choirs of the Glasbena Matica offer young singers the opportunity to familiarise themselves with the choral and operatic repertoire, both Slovene and foreign, teach them to sing harmoniously with others and to perform as part of a group, develop their social skills and ensure their correct development as singers. The choirs appear in operas and musicals (Tosca, Werther, Kekec and Skovik, Gal in the Gallery, The Boy Who Grew Too Quickly, The Kingdom of Music, From the Belly of the Anaconda, The Snow Queen, African Animal Paradise, Brundibar, Curiosity Punished, etc.) and take part in concerts (Mahler’s Third Symphony; Berlioz’s La damnation de Faust), ballets (Appearance/Disappearance), various events, seminars and recordings. In 2023 the Children’s Choir was awarded a gold diploma with distinction at the Children’s and Youth Choir Competition of the Central Slovenia Region. The Youth Vocal Group received a gold diploma at an international competition in Gdansk (Poland) the same year.
PREPARATIONS and PERFORMANCE
Artistic team: Tadeja Kreča (choir director), Tanja Rupnik (singing teacher), Metoda Kink (accompanist)
Regular choir practice: Mondays, 5.00 pm to 6.30 pm, 9 September 2024–10 February 2025, Glasbena Matica
Joint rehearsals with soloists, choirs and orchestra: expected to take place from 16 to 19 February 2025
Concert: 20 and 21 February 2025, Gallus Hall, Cankarjev Dom
FEES
Fees (€30/month) cover regular choir practices and the joint rehearsals with the full ensemble in the run-up to the performances. The educational and artistic process is based on professional teaching that aims to train young singers to perform confidently and convincingly onstage. The concert offers singers the opportunity to be part of a performance of a masterpiece of twentieth-century choral music alongside internationally acclaimed professional musicians, the experience of performing at one of Slovenia’s most important music venues, and the chance to discover and develop their own artistic potential.
Voice trial applications can be submitted using the online application form on the website www.glasbenamatica.si by 30 August.
INFORMATION
Glasbena matica Ljubljana, Vegova ulica 5, Ljubljana
Lucija Pavlovič, project coordinator
organizator@glasbenamatica.si, +386 (0)51 359 313
Musical theatre productions and concerts by the young singers of the Glasbena Matica
