In 2013, the world celebrates not only the bicentennials of Wagner and Verdi, but also the centenary of the birth of Benjamin Britten. The most popular works of the greatest British composer of the 20th century, who also produced some wonderful recordings as a conductor and pianist, are the opera Peter Grimes and The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra, composed to a theme by Purcell. Naturally, this does not mean he did not leave other works of significance to posterity; the War Requiem is on...e of his key works, albeit one seldom heard in concert halls in Hungary. Here it will be performed on the eve of the British composer’s birthday. The large-scale funeral mass, which runs for approximately 90 minutes, was written to mark the consecration of the new Coventry Cathedral in England after the original Gothic structure was destroyed in a Second World War bombing raid. Premièred in 1962, Britten wrote the solo parts for three artists of different nationalities to whom he felt both an artistic and human attachment. Galina Vishnevskaya was not permitted by the Soviet authorities to participate in the première, so a British soprano was engaged to perform alongside Peter Pears and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The unique feature of this beautiful yet harrowing work is that the traditional texts of the Latin funeral mass are interspersed with settings of the poems of Wilfred Owen, the First World War English poet who was killed in action in 1918. This highly significant production by the Hungarian National Philharmonic for the 2013–2014 season will be conducted by Howard Williams, a British conductor who maintains a close association with the Hungarian music scene. Presented by: Hungarian National Philharmonic
Parking information
We wish to inform you that in the event that Müpa Budapest's underground garage and outdoor car park are operating at full capacity, it is advisable to plan for increased waiting times when you arrive. In order to avoid this, we recommend that you depart for our events in time, so that you you can find the ideal parking spot quickly and smoothly and arrive for our performance in comfort. The Müpa Budapest underground garage gates will be operated by an automatic number plate recognition system. Parking is free of charge for visitors with tickets to any of our paid performances on that given day. The detailed parking policy of Müpa Budapest is available here.
Safe ticket purchase
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