Timelapse of Taal Volcano Mildly Smoking, Taal Lake, Tagaytay, Philippines, 2023

The city visible next to the Taal Lake is Laurel.

Taal Volcano (Tagalog: Bulkang Taal) is a large caldera filled by Taal Lake in the Philippines. Located in the province of Batangas, the volcano is second of the most active volcanoes in the country, with 38 recorded historical eruptions, all of which were concentrated on Volcano Island, near the middle of Taal Lake. The caldera was formed by prehistoric eruptions between 140,000 and 5,380 BP. The volcano is located about 50 kilometers (31 mi) south of Manila, the capital of the Philippines. Taal Volcano has had several violent eruptions in the past, with an overall death toll of about 6,000. Because of its proximity to populated areas and its eruptive history, the volcano was designated a Decade Volcano, worthy of close study to prevent future natural disasters. All volcanoes in the Philippines are part of the Ring of Fire.

(From Wikipedia)

"Caliban's Dream" is a track written by Rick Smith of electronic group Underworld for the Isles of Wonder opening ceremony of the 2012 summer Olympics in London. The track features performances by Alex Trimble (lead singer and guitarist of Two Door Cinema Club), percussionist Dame Evelyn Glennie, the Dockhead Choir conducted by Mag Shepherd, Only Men Aloud male voice choir, soprano Elizabeth Roberts, and Esme Bronwen-Smith (co-writer with Rick Smith of the soprano and choral score). Glennie played a newly developed percussion instrument, the Aluphone, on the track. The orchestra was elements of the London Symphony Orchestra, orchestrated and conducted by Geoffrey Alexander. The singers were Will Balkwill, Zoe Brown, Ronan Busfield, Emily Dickens, Elizabeth Drury, James Hall, Johnny Herford, Katy Hill, Jimmy Holliday, Eloise Irving, Gareth John, Oliver Jones, Christopher Lowrey, Philippa Murray, Robyn Allegra Parton, Catherine Pope, Alison Rose, Domhnall Talbot, Reuben Thomas and Amy Wood. The drums were played by Paul Clarvis, Barnaby Archer, Oliver Blake, Daniel Bradley, Rebecca Celebuski, Jason Chowdhury, Jonathan Colgan, Oliver Cox, Fabio de Oliveira, Mike Dolbear, Robert Eckland, Daniel Ellis, Richard Elsworth, David Holmes, Oliver Lowe, Nicola Marangoni, James O’Carroll, Gerard Rundell, Ramon Sherrington, Corrina Silvester, Alex Smith, Owain Williams and Justin Woodward. The drum score was arranged by Rick Smith and Paul Clarvis.

"Caliban's Dream" was performed for the first time on 27 July 2012 at the opening ceremony of the Summer Olympics in London, as the Olympic cauldron was lit by the seven young athletes. The title refers to Caliban in The Tempest by William Shakespeare, whose 'Be not afeard' speech Sir Kenneth Branagh, as 19th Century engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, had recited earlier in the ceremony - a speech from the play's Act 3, Scene 2, in which Caliban refers to his dreams:

Be not afeard; the isle is full of noises,
Sounds, and sweet airs, that give delight and hurt not.
Sometimes a thousand twangling instruments
Will hum about mine ears; and sometime voices
That, if I then had waked after long sleep,
Will make me sleep again; and then in dreaming,
The clouds methought would open, and show riches
Ready to drop upon me, that when I awaked,
I cried to dream again!

The track reprises the whistling leitmotif first heard during the minute's silence section of "And I Will Kiss", earlier in the ceremony. This time, it is sung by a children's choir, then whistled, then both together. The lyrics for the song were written specifically for the opening ceremony by Underworld’s Rick Smith and sung by Alex Trimble.

Oh,
And the rain tossed about us, in the garden of the world,
But a flame arrives to guide us, cast in gold between the anvils of the stars
Watch you over all your children in the rain, and the streets where I remember,
Where the fire lights are candle souls again.
Affirming flame, hear me call.
Through the darkness, hear it call to us all.
And stir again.
This beating heart, come to care.

Oh,
And the light drive out our fears, And the joy drive out our pain,
And the nations come to greet us, waving open arms like waves of golden corn.
Ever hear us, oh the spirit of the world. May your light be ever near us,
Always lead us from the dark, though we may fall.
We will fly.
And with love, ever call.

At the climax of the track, as the cauldron is lit, a single tuned bell tolls five times. The main riff beneath this section is taken from Underworld's 2002 single "Two Months Off". The track ends with a lone unaccompanied soprano singing as the parts of the cauldron rise, assembling itself into a whole and burns brightly.