Wainwright: Dream Requiem

Listening to Verdi’s Requiem aged 13 was a transformative moment in Rufus Wainwright’s life. Then, 35 years later, came COVID, the aridity and isolation of that period inspiring Dream Requiem, Wainwright’s own meditation on the Catholic Mass of the dead. This live recording, made at the June 2024 premiere in Paris, reveals a work of striking musical range and ambition, intercutting the Latin text with excerpts from Lord Byron’s poem “Darkness” (spoken by Meryl Streep). The ecstatic combination of soprano Anna Prohaska and the Radio France Choir in the “Lux perpetua” movement, the poignant cello solo in the “Offertorium,” and the eerie, other-worldly “In paradisum” are among the hour-long work’s many highlights. While the overarching trajectory of the piece veers from trepidatious to apocalyptic, Wainwright’s textural inventiveness and strong instinct for melody make Dream Requiem a consistently involving and rewarding listen.