Coventry Cathedral [Defacto]

CLASSICAL composers don’t make front-page news these days, unless they misbehave. But back in 1963 when Benjamin Britten premiered his War Requiem, the world took note. It happened in the brand-new Coventry Cathedral, built to replace the one the Luftwaffe had bombed. It was intended as a gesture of post-war reconciliation, with soloists symbolically representing England, Germany and Russia (though the Russians pulled out!). And the score was cataclysmic in its depiction of the horrors of war, combining the Latin Mass for the Dead with poems by Wilfred Owen, and calling for huge orchestral/choral forces that, if nothing else, made an almighty noise. Few works of 20th-century art carried more immediate impact. And over the years it hasn’t diminished – as you’ll hear if you go to the Albert Hall on August 17, when the War Requiem plays as part of the Proms.

The orchestra is the one Britten wanted but didn’t get in 1963, the LSO. The conductor is Antonio Pappano. And it promises to be the kind of performance Britten could only dream about in Coventry – because, despite the massively high profile of that 60s premiere, it was beset by problems (poor acoustic, hostile clergy, rows and jealousies) that left their mark on him.When it was over, all he could say was: “Well, the idea was good”. An understatement, as next Saturday will confirm.

• Two other Titans of concert repertoire visit the Proms this week. On August 19 it’s Bach’s St John Passion performed by the visiting Bach Collegium Japan with their conductor Masaaki Suzuki: a true master of this music and abiding proof that art transcends cultural boundaries.

Then, on August 21, it’s Beethoven’s 9th Symphony: one of the few works that surfaces in every Proms seasons, but with a difference here in that it’s done from memory by the dynamic young Aurora Orchestra under conductor Nicholas Collon. Without the notes in front of them, Aurora’s players have a freedom that (they say) enables them to focus on delivery in a unique way – usually involving choreography and visual packaging, to give the music context. If that sounds off-putting, fear not. Past examples have been brilliant. Proms run at the Royal Albert Hall but are also broadcast live on Radio 3. Details: bbc.co.uk/proms

• Outside the Proms, the Grimeborn opera festival continues at Dalston’s Arcola Theatre, with a small-scale La Boheme August 20-24. At the same time, August 21-24, is something called Mr Punch at the Opera, based on Pergolesi’s La Serva Padrona but incorporating the characters you’ll know from Punch & Judy shows – crocodile, sausages et al – that so charmingly introduce children to a world of psychotic violence. And with less blood on the floor, there’s a traditional Marriage of Figaro from Ensemble OrQuesta Aug 27-31. Details: arcolatheatre.com

• Finally, two more things for families. The Dr Who Prom, which is now an annual institution, plays August 26 at the Albert Hall (bbc.co.uk/proms). And in the belief that it’s never too early to discover music, English Touring Opera are at the Little Angel Theatre, Islington, August 23-25, with a piece called Under the Little Red Moon that’s specifically for infants under two. About my level, as I sometimes think. Englishtouringopera.org.uk