Dream Requiem

Rufus Wainwright’s Dream Requiem is the result of a commission from major cultural institutions in the US, UK, and Europe. This world premiere recording features a new composition by the legendary, Grammy-nominated musician.

Written during the pandemic, it’s a requiem “for the people we have lost in this crisis, for the past from which we are cut off and for the future to which we do not yet know how to connect, a Requiem for human contact, solidarity and the human voice that have all become dangerous and contagious.” It’s also a reflection on environmental collapse and the increase in the number of natural disasters. The text of Dream Requiem weaves together words from the Latin Mass for the Dead – as used by his hero Verdi – with Lord Byron’s apocalyptic poem “Darkness,” written after the volcanic eruption of Mount Tambora in 1815 and which brought about “the year without summer.”

Dream Requiem was commissioned by Radio France, The Royal Ballet, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, Palau de la Música Catalana Barcelona, Auditori de Barcelona, the RTÉ Concert Orchestra, the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra and the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra. World Premiere presented by Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, conducted by Mikko Franck on 14 June 2024, with soprano Anna Prohaska, Maîtrise de Radio France and Choeur de Radio France.