Jane Fonda to Appear as Narrator for Los Angeles Master Chorale's DREAM REQUIEM

Jane Fonda will be the narrator for the U.S. premiere of Rufus Wainwright’s new work and Los Angeles Master Chorale co-commission, Dream Requiem on May 4, 2025, as part of the Master Chorale’s 60th anniversary season.

Dream Requiem is a profound musical work that brings together Wainwright’s long-standing fascination with the Requiem form with the dramatic impact of recent global events. Inspired by his early encounter with Verdi's Requiem Mass, Wainwright has infused his own composition with the weight of personal and collective loss, particularly in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and the California wildfires. The piece interweaves the traditional Latin text of the Mass for the dead with Lord Byron’s apocalyptic poem “Darkness,” written in the aftermath of the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora. This fusion reflects not only Wainwright's deep connection to opera and classical music but also his desire to capture the universal sense of grief, isolation, and uncertainty brought about by the pandemic and environmental crises.

“I’m thrilled to collaborate with my brilliant friend Rufus Wainwright on his new work, ‘Dream Requiem,’ alongside the outstanding, GRAMMY™ Award-winning Los Angeles Master Chorale,” said actor and activist Jane Fonda. “It’s a privilege to work with such talented musicians, artists, and visionaries to bring this remarkable vision to life.”

“When Jane enters your life it’s on every level and on all cylinders, and so far our personal relationship as well as our common love of activism has beautifully flourished,” said Wainwright. “Can't wait for the artistic one to burst forth!”

Jane Fonda is a two-time Academy Award-winning actor (Best Actress in 1971 for Klute and in 1978 for Coming Home), producer, author, activist, and fitness guru. Her career
has spanned over 50 years and over 50 films, as well as significant contributions to political causes such as women’s rights, Native Americans' rights, and environmental protection. She is a seven-time Golden Globe® winner and was honored with the Cecil B. DeMille Award in 2021. She accepted The Harry Belafonte Voices for Social Justice Award at the 2023 Tribeca Film Festival. Most recently, in April of 2024, Fonda accepted the TIME Magazine Earth Award.

2023 was a banner year for Jane, with four films released. She lent her voice to 'Grandmama’ in DreamWorks’ animated film Ruby Gillman, Teenage Kraken; reunited with Diane Keaton, Mary Steenburgen, and Candice Bergen for Focus Features’ Book Club 2; and starred in 80 For Brady opposite Lily Tomlin, Sally Field, and Rita Moreno, released by Paramount Pictures. Then there was Moving On by Paul Weitz for Roadside Attractions, in which Fonda starred opposite Tomlin. Other notable credits include Grace & Frankie, Netflix’s longest-running original series. For her work on the series, she received an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2017. She also released Jane Fonda in Five Acts, a documentary for HBO chronicling her life and activism.

Fonda continues to lead the charge on the climate emergency via Fire Drill Fridays, the national movement to protest government inaction on climate change, which she started in October 2019 in partnership with Greenpeace USA. In 2022, she launched the Jane Fonda Climate PAC, focused on defeating political allies of the fossil fuel industry. Her latest book, “What Can I Do? My Path From Climate Despair to Action,” details her personal journey with the movement and provides solutions for communities to combat the climate crisis. Notably, Jane celebrated her 85th birthday by raising $1 million for her nonprofit, the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Power & Potential (GCAPP).

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