Rufus Wainwright: Dream Requiem

by Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France

Overview

There's always been the flair of theatrical, swooning, operatic drama in Rufus Wainwright's music. It's a vibe he has evoked on his pop albums, but which he leaned directly into on his two operas, 2009's Prima Donna (recorded in 2015) and 2018's Hadrian. While not an opera, 2025's Dream Requiem nonetheless underscores the singer/songwriter's deep passion for dramatic classical composition. An ambitious project to say the least, Dream Requiem finds Wainwright fusing Giuseppe Verdi's iconic 1874 Requiem with Lord Byron's 1816 poem "Darkness." He purportedly conceived the idea of Dream Requiem at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns, ruminating over the state of the world, concerns over environmental collapse, and political upheaval. These are themes already redolent in Byron's poem, but which gain even more sonic emotional layers when reframed against the Catholic funeral mass choralizations of Verdi's piece. Recorded live at Auditorium de Radio France in Paris, Dream Requiem features soprano Anna Prohaska, a longtime Wainwright associate, along with the Ch¿ur de Radio France and the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France conducted by Mikko Franck. Also helping bring life to the project is actress Meryl Streep, who narrates Byron's poem with a steely, Shakespearean gravitas. More than just a heady historical mash-up, Wainwright's Dream Requiem is a deep classical album, full of cavernous orchestral sections, apocalyptic choral harmonies, and moments of haunting, spectral beauty. It's also a vivid theatrical experience that manages to feel both viscerally engaging and unsettling in its timeliness. ~ Matt Collar

Product Details

Release Date:	02/21/2025
Label:	WARNER CLASSICS
UPC:	5021732500601

Tracks

1. Dream Requiem~Darkness I
2. Dream Requiem~Requiem aeternam
3. Dream Requiem~Et lux perpetua
4. Dream Requiem~Kyrie, eleison!
5. Dream Requiem~Sequentia I. Dies irae
6. Dream Requiem~Darkness II
7. Dream Requiem~Sequentia II. Mors stupebit
8. Dream Requiem~Sequentia III. Rex tremendae
9. Dream Requiem~Sequentia IV. Ingemisco
10. Dream Requiem~Sequentia V. Confutatis
11. Dream Requiem~Darkness III
12. Dream Requiem~Offertorium
13. Dream Requiem~Sanctus
14. Dream Requiem~Agnus Dei
15. Dream Requiem~Lux aeterna
16. Dream Requiem~Darkness IV
17. Dream Requiem~In paradisum
18. Applause

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Meryl Streep   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Anna Prohaska   Primary Artist,Soprano (Vocal),Featured Artist
Mikko Franck   Primary Artist,Conductor
Rufus Wainwright   Primary Artist
Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France   Primary Artist,Orchestra
Nathan Mierdl   Violin
Les Maitrise de Radio France   Choir/Chorus,Featured Artist
Radio France Chorus   Choir/Chorus,Featured Artist
Marc Desmons   Featured Artist,Viola

Technical Credits

Stefanie Schlatt   Liner Note Translation
Cyprien Matheux   Producer,Recording Producer
Lucas Derode   Engineer
Coline Soubieux   Advisor
Christelle Boetti   Technical Coordinator
Gioele Amaro   Cover Art
Morgan Creze   Engineer
Rufus Wainwright   Composer,Liner Notes
Meryl Streep   Narrator
David Ylla-Somers   Liner Note Translation
Christophe Abramowitz   Photography
Jorn Weisbroedt   Liner Notes
Daniel Fesquet   Liner Note Translation
Allison Ascrizzi   Post Production Assistant
Recorded Sound   Composer
Yves Baudry   Engineer,Balance Engineer