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As Europe slipped towards Fascism, Michael Tippett felt solidarity with the downtrodden. Then, in 1938,a young Polish Jew, whose parents had been deported by the Nazis, shot a German diplomat in Paris. Tippett had the central figure for his ‘oratorio of contemplation’, A Child of Our Time – inspired by Bach’s Passions, Handel’s Messiah and American spirituals.

Mark Wigglesworth also explores the theme of parent–child relationships in the final scene of Wagner’s opera Die Walküre, culminating in Wotan’s poignant farewell to his daughter.

Please note that Pamela Helen Stephen, the advertised mezzo-soprano, has had to withdraw from tonight’s performance. The ³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ Proms is very grateful to Susan Bickley for taking her place.