First Night

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This year's Proms kicked off in great style with Verdi's Requiem. It reminded me that although I don't believe in that strangest of obsessions, The Bucket List, I would still like to experience Verdi in the Arena of Verona - Nabucco in particular, as did my late workmate Bryn - a singer himself - in the months before he died.

One thing that these great Christian classical pieces won't prompt me to revisit is the dogma of the faith I was brought up in. As I've said before, I've espoused Zen Buddhism since I was a teenager, and although I love the symbolism and ritual of High Church, and the cosy fraternity of the Low Church, I find it all a bit reductive compared to the open-ness of Zen: the Requiem's words are all you need to come the same conclusion...
 

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