Poet of Freedom

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When Picasso’s anti-war painting Guernica was first exhibited at the 1937 Paris Exposition, it was accompanied by a poem by Paul Éluard, also produced in response to the Fascist bombing of the Basque town of Guernica. Éluard became known as the ‘Poet of Freedom’ during the Second World War. This programme features songs connected to the tragedy of Guernica, settings of Éluard and, more widely, songs and poetry composed in response to conflict: anti-war songs, protest songs, and songs of freedom.

We welcome back the fast-rising star baritone Theodore Platt, and former Oxford Song Young Artist Keval Shah, now Professor of Lieder at the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki.

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