DOCSLIB.ORG

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
A Midsummer Night's Dream OVERTURE OPERA GUIDES in association with We are delighted to have the opportunity to work with Overture Publishing on this series of opera guides and to build on the work ENO did over twenty years ago on the Calder Opera Guide Series. As well as reworking and updating existing titles, Overture and ENO have commissioned new titles for the series and all of the guides will be published to coincide with repertoire being staged by the company at the London Coliseum. In recent years ENO has enjoyed a series of highly successful and critically acclaimed productions of Britten’s operas, including Deborah Warner’s Death in Venice, David McVicar’s Turn of the Screw and David Alden’s Peter Grimes. Opening on 19th May 2011 is the latest instalment of this refreshing of the Britten repertoire: Christopher Alden’s new production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream, conducted by Leo Hussain and with a cast led by counter- tenor Iestyn Davies (Oberon), soprano Anna Christy (Tytania) and bass-baritone Sir Willard White (Bottom). We hope that these guides will prove an invaluable resource now and for years to come, and that by delving deeper into the history of an opera, the poetry of the libretto and the nuances of the score, readers’ understanding and appreciation of the opera and the art form in general will be enhanced. John Berry Artistic Director, ENO May 2011 The publisher John Calder began the Opera Guides series under the editorship of the late Nicholas John in associa- tion with English National Opera in 1980. It ran until 1994 and eventually included forty-eight titles, covering fifty-eight operas. The books in the series were intended to be companions to the works that make up the core of the operatic repertory. They contained articles, illustrations, musical examples and a complete libretto and singing translation of each opera in the series, as well as bibliographies and discographies. The aim of the present relaunched series is to make available again the guides already published in a redesigned format with new illustrations, some new articles, updated reference sec- tions and a literal translation of the libretto that will enable the reader to get closer to the meaning of the original. New guides of operas not already covered will be published alongside the redesigned ones from the old series. Gary Kahn Series Editor Sponsors of the Overture Opera Guides for the 2010/11 Season at ENO Eric Adler John and Gilly Baker Frank and Lorna Dunphy Ian and Catherine Ferguson Judith Mayhew Jonas and Christopher Jonas Ralph Wells A Midsummer Night’s Dream Benjamin Britten Overture Opera Guides Series Editor Gary Kahn Editorial Consultant Philip Reed Head of Publications, ENO OP OVERTURE OVERTURE OPERA GUIDES in association with Overture Publishing an imprint of ONEWORLD CLASSICS London House 243-253 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond Surrey TW9 2LL United Kingdom Articles by Andrew Plant, Philip Reed and David Nice first published in this volume © the authors 2011 Articles by Philip Brett © Decca Records and Benjamin Britten © Britten–Pears Foundation Excerpts and libretto from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, op. 64 © 1960 by Hawkes and Son (London) Ltd Reproduced by permission of Boosey and Hawkes Music Publisher Ltd Excerpt from The Dog Beneath the Skin © 1935, W.H. Auden and Christopher Isherwood Excerpt from ‘Nocturne’ from Collected Poems © 1976, 1991, The Estate of W.H. Auden Both reproduced by permission This Midsummer Night’s Dream Opera Guide first published by Overture Publishing, an imprint of Oneworld Classics Ltd, 2011 © Oneworld Classics Ltd, 2011 All rights reserved Printed in United Kingdom by TJ International, Padstow, Cornwall ISBN: 978-1-84749-544-0 All the material in this volume is reprinted with permission or presumed to be in the public domain. Every effort has been made to ascertain and acknowledge its copyright status, but should there have been any unwitting oversight on our part, we would be happy to rectify the error in subsequent printings. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise), without the prior written permission of the publisher. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be resold, lent, hired out or otherwise circulated without the express prior consent of the publisher. Contents List of Illustrations 8 Night’s Caressing Grip: The Evolution of the Dream, 9 Andrew Plant A Midsummer Night’s Dream: The Music, Philip Reed 23 Reinventing the Dream: 41 A Midsummer Night’s Dream on Stage, David Nice Britten’s Dream: An Introduction, Philip Brett 49 A New Britten Opera, Benjamin Britten 55 Thematic Guide, Philip Reed 59 A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Libretto 87 Act One 89 Act Two 107 Act Three 127 Discography 145 A Midsummer Night’s Dream on DVD 147 Select Bibliography 148 Britten Websites 150 Note on the Contributors 151 Acknowledgements 152 List of Illustrations 1. Benjamin Britten in 1960 (Maria Austria/ Britten–Pears Foundation) 2. Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten (Britten–Pears Foundation) 3. The Red House (Jack Phipps/Britten–Pears Foundation) 4. Cast list in Britten’s annotated Penguin Shakespeare (Britten–Pears Foundation) 5. First page of Britten’s composition draft (Britten–Pears Foundation) 6. Britten rehearsing the Fairies at the Jubilee Hall (Britten–Pears Foundation) 7. The first production (Maria Austria/ Britten–Pears Foundation) 8. Russell Oberlin and John Gielgud 9. Elisabeth Vaughan and Josephine Veasey (Reg Wilson) 10. Günther Rennert’s production at the Hamburg Staatsoper (Fritz Peyer) 11. Luigi Squarzina’s production at La Scala, Milan (Erio Piccagliani) 12. Walter Felsenstein’s production at the Komische Oper, Berlin (Jürgen Simon) 13. Basil Coleman’s production at the San Francisco Opera Company (Carolyn Mason Jones) 14. The rustics and Puck at the Royal Flemish Opera 15. Jean-Pierre Ponnelle’s production at the Strasbourg Festival (Strasbourg Festival) 16. Peter Hall’s production at the Glyndebourne Festival (Guy Gravett) 17. Danielle Borst and François Le Roux at the Opéra de Lyon (Gérard Amsellem) 18. Mark Rylance and James Bowman at the Royal Opera House (Clive Barda) 19. Robert Carsen’s production at the Aix-en-Provence Festival (Labo Photo Mairie) 20. Baz Luhrmann’s production at Opera Australia (Jeff Busby) 21. Tim Albery’s production at the Metropolitan Opera (Metropolitan Opera Archives) 22. David McVicar’s production at La Monnaie, Brussels (Johan Jacobs) 23. Olivia Fuchs’s production at the Linbury Studio Theatre (Johan Persson) 24. Martin Duncan’s production at Opera North (Tristram Kenton) 25. Daniel Slater’s production at Garsington Opera (Mike Hoban) 8 A Midsummer Night’s Dream An opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten Libretto adapted from William Shakespeare by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears A Midsummer Night’s Dream was first performed at the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh on 11th June 1960. It was first performed in the United States at the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco on 10th October 1961. the chArActers Oberon, King of the Fairies counter-tenor (or contralto) Tytania, Queen of the Fairies soprano Puck acrobat, speaking role Theseus, Duke of Athens bass Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, contralto betrothed to Theseus Lysander, in love with Hermia tenor Demetrius, in love with Hermia baritone Hermia, in love with Lysander mezzo-soprano Helena, in love with Demetrius soprano Bottom, a weaver bass-baritone Quince, a carpenter bass Flute, a bellows-mender tenor Snug, a joiner bass Snout, a tinker tenor Starveling, a tailor baritone Cobweb treble Peaseblossom treble Fairies Mustardseed treble Moth treble Chorus of Fairies trebles A wood near Athens, then Theseus’s palace ACT ONE The Wood, deepening twilight [1] Enter Fairies (in two groups, Cobweb and Mustardseed with first, Peaseblossom and Moth with second). FAIRIES Over hill, over dale, thorough bush, thorough brier, [2] Over park, over pale, thorough flood, thorough fire, We do wander everywhere, swifter than the Moone’s sphere; And we serve the Fairy Queen, to dew her orbs upon the green. [3] SOLOS Cowslips tall, her pensioners be, [4] In their gold coats, spots you see, Those be rubies, fairy favours, In those freckles live their savours. ALL We must go seek some dewdrops here, And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear. PUCK (suddenly appearing) How now, spirits? The Fairies scatter to the side. FAIRIES Or I mistake your shape and making quite: Or are you not that shrewd and knavish sprite Call’d Robin Goodfellow? Are you not he, [5] That frights the maidens of the villagery, 89 A MidsuMMer Night’s dreAM Skim milk, and sometimes labour in the quern, And bootless make the breathless huswife churn, And sometime make the drink to bear no barm, Mislead night-wanderers, laughing at their harm? You do the work and they shall have good luck, They that Hobgoblins call you, and sweet Puck! PUCK But room, fairy, here comes Oberon. FAIRIES And here our mistress; Would that he were gone. Enter slowly Oberon and Tytania with her train from opposite sides. [6] FAIRIES (whispered) Oberon is passing fell and wrath, Because that she, as her attendant, hath A lovely boy stolen from an Indian King, And jealous Oberon would have the child. OBERON Ill met by moonlight, [7] Proud Tytania. TYTANIA Ill met by moonlight, Jealous Oberon. Fairies skip hence. I have forsworn his bed and company. The Fairies hide. OBERON Therefore the winds have suck’d up from the sea Contagious fogs. TYTANIA Therefore the ox hath stretched his yoke in vain, 90 Note on the Contributors Andrew Plant received his doctorate from the University of Birmingham and was based at the Britten–Pears Foundation for many years, from where he forged a dual career as a musicologist and practical musician.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Mozart Magic Philharmoniker
    THE T A R S Mass, in C minor, K 427 (Grosse Messe) Barbara Hendricks, Janet Perry, sopranos; Peter Schreier, tenor; Benjamin Luxon, bass; David Bell, organ; Wiener Singverein; Herbert von Karajan, conductor; Berliner Mozart magic Philharmoniker. Mass, in C major, K 317 (Kronungsmesse) (Coronation) Edith Mathis, soprano; Norma Procter, contralto...[et al.]; Rafael Kubelik, Bernhard Klee, conductors; Symphonie-Orchester des on CD Bayerischen Rundfunks. Vocal: Opera Così fan tutte. Complete Montserrat Caballé, Ileana Cotrubas, so- DALENA LE ROUX pranos; Janet Baker, mezzo-soprano; Nicolai Librarian, Central Reference Vocal: Vespers Vesparae solennes de confessore, K 339 Gedda, tenor; Wladimiro Ganzarolli, baritone; Kiri te Kanawa, soprano; Elizabeth Bainbridge, Richard van Allan, bass; Sir Colin Davis, con- or a composer whose life was as contralto; Ryland Davies, tenor; Gwynne ductor; Chorus and Orchestra of the Royal pathetically brief as Mozart’s, it is Howell, bass; Sir Colin Davis, conductor; Opera House, Covent Garden. astonishing what a colossal legacy F London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus. Idomeneo, K 366. Complete of musical art he has produced in a fever Anthony Rolfe Johnson, tenor; Anne of unremitting work. So much music was Sofie von Otter, contralto; Sylvia McNair, crowded into his young life that, dead at just Vocal: Masses/requiem Requiem mass, K 626 soprano...[et al.]; Monteverdi Choir; John less than thirty-six, he has bequeathed an Barbara Bonney, soprano; Anne Sofie von Eliot Gardiner, conductor; English Baroque eternal legacy, the full wealth of which the Otter, contralto; Hans Peter Blochwitz, tenor; soloists. world has yet to assess. Willard White, bass; Monteverdi Choir; John Le nozze di Figaro (The marriage of Figaro).
    [Show full text]
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream
    Monday 25, Wednesday 27 February, Friday 1, Monday 4 March, 7pm Silk Street Theatre A Midsummer Night’s Dream by Benjamin Britten Dominic Wheeler conductor Martin Lloyd-Evans director Ruari Murchison designer Mark Jonathan lighting designer Guildhall School of Music & Drama Guildhall School Movement Founded in 1880 by the Opera Course and Dance City of London Corporation Victoria Newlyn Head of Opera Caitlin Fretwell Chairman of the Board of Governors Studies Walsh Vivienne Littlechild Dominic Wheeler Combat Principal Resident Producer Jonathan Leverett Lynne Williams Martin Lloyd-Evans Language Coaches Vice-Principal and Director of Music Coaches Emma Abbate Jonathan Vaughan Lionel Friend Florence Daguerre Alex Ingram de Hureaux Anthony Legge Matteo Dalle Fratte Please visit our website at gsmd.ac.uk (guest) Aurelia Jonvaux Michael Lloyd Johanna Mayr Elizabeth Marcus Norbert Meyn Linnhe Robertson Emanuele Moris Peter Robinson Lada Valešova Stephen Rose Elizabeth Rowe Opera Department Susanna Stranders Manager Jonathan Papp (guest) Steven Gietzen Drama Guildhall School Martin Lloyd-Evans Vocal Studies Victoria Newlyn Department Simon Cole Head of Vocal Studies Armin Zanner Deputy Head of The Guildhall School Vocal Studies is part of Culture Mile: culturemile.london Samantha Malk The Guildhall School is provided by the City of London Corporation as part of its contribution to the cultural life of London and the nation A Midsummer Night’s Dream Music by Benjamin Britten Libretto adapted from Shakespeare by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears
    [Show full text]
  • New on Naxos | MAY 2012
    25years NEW ON The World’s Leading ClassicalNA MusicXO LabelS MAY 2012 This Month’s Other Highlights © 2012 Naxos Rights International Limited • Contact Us: [email protected] www.naxos.com • www.classicsonline.com • www.naxosmusiclibrary.com NEW ON NAXOS | MAY 2012 8.572823 Playing Time: 76:43 7 47313 28237 1 © Bruna Rausa Alessandro Marangoni Mario CASTELNUOVO-TEDESCO (1895-1968) Piano Concerto No 1 in G minor, Op 46 Piano Concerto No 2 in F major, Op 92 Four Dances from ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’, Op 167* Alessandro Marangoni, piano Malmö Symphony Orchestra • Andrew Mogrelia * First Performance and Recording Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco’s two Piano Concertos form a contrasting pair. Concerto No. 1, written in 1927, is a vivid and witty example of his romantic spirit, exquisite melodies and rich yet transparent orchestration. Concerto No. 2, composed a decade later, is a darker, more dramatic and virtuosic work. The deeply-felt and dreamlike slow movement and passionate finale are tinged with bleak moments of somber agitation, suggestive of unfolding tragic events with the imminent introduction of the Fascist Racial Laws that led Castelnuovo-Tedesco to seek exile in the USA in 1939. The Four Dances from ‘Love’s Labour’s Lost’, part of the composer’s recurring fascination for the art of Shakespeare, are atmospheric, richly characterised and hugely enjoyable. This is their first performance and recording. After winning national and international awards, Alessandro Marangoni has appeared throughout Europe and America, as a soloist and as a © Zu Zweit chamber musician, collaborating with some of Italy’s leading performers.
    [Show full text]
  • Sally Matthews Is Magnificent
    ` DVORAK Rusalka, Glyndebourne Festival, Robin Ticciati. DVD Opus Arte Sally Matthews is magnificent. During the Act II court ball her moral and social confusion is palpable. And her sorrowful return to the lake in the last act to be reviled by her water sprite sisters would melt the winter ice. Christopher Cook, BBC Music Magazine, November 2020 Sally Matthews’ Rusalka is sung with a smoky soprano that has surprising heft given its delicacy, and the Prince is Evan LeRoy Johnson, who combines an ardent tenor with good looks. They have great chemistry between them and the whole cast is excellent. Opera Now, November-December 2020 SCHUMANN Paradies und die Peri, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Paolo Bortolameolli Matthews is noted for her interpretation of the demanding role of the Peri and also appears on one of its few recordings, with Rattle conducting. The soprano was richly communicative in the taxing vocal lines, which called for frequent leaps and a culminating high C … Her most rewarding moments occurred in Part III, particularly in “Verstossen, verschlossen” (“Expelled again”), as she fervently Sally Matthews vowed to go to the depths of the earth, an operatic tour-de-force. Janelle Gelfand, Cincinnati Business Courier, December 2019 Soprano BARBER Two Scenes from Anthony & Cleopatra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Juanjo Mena This critic had heard a fine performance of this music by Matthews and Mena at the BBC Proms in London in 2018, but their performance here on Thursday was even finer. Looking suitably regal in a glittery gold form-fitting gown, the British soprano put her full, vibrant, richly contoured voice fully at the service of text and music.
    [Show full text]
  • Press Information Eno 2013/14 Season
    PRESS INFORMATION ENO 2013/14 SEASON 1 #ENGLISHENO1314 NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 CONTENTS Autumn 2013 4 FIDELIO Beethoven 6 DIE FLEDERMAUS Strauss 8 MADAM BUtteRFLY Puccini 10 THE MAGIC FLUte Mozart 12 SATYAGRAHA Glass Spring 2014 14 PeteR GRIMES Britten 18 RIGOLetto Verdi 20 RoDELINDA Handel 22 POWDER HeR FAce Adès Summer 2014 24 THEBANS Anderson 26 COSI FAN TUtte Mozart 28 BenvenUTO CELLINI Berlioz 30 THE PEARL FISHERS Bizet 32 RIveR OF FUNDAMent Barney & Bepler ENGLISH NATIONAL OPERA Press Information 2013/4 3 FIDELIO NEW PRODUCTION BEETHoven (1770–1827) Opens: 25 September 2013 (7 performances) One of the most sought-after opera and theatre directors of his generation, Calixto Bieito returns to ENO to direct a new production of Beethoven’s only opera, Fidelio. Bieito’s continued association with the company shows ENO’s commitment to highly theatrical and new interpretations of core repertoire. Following the success of his Carmen at ENO in 2012, described by The Guardian as ‘a cogent, gripping piece of work’, Bieito’s production of Fidelio comes to the London Coliseum after its 2010 premiere in Munich. Working with designer Rebecca Ringst, Bieito presents a vast Escher-like labyrinth set, symbolising the powerfully claustrophobic nature of the opera. Edward Gardner, ENO’s highly acclaimed Music Director, 2013 Olivier Award-nominee and recipient of an OBE for services to music, conducts an outstanding cast led by Stuart Skelton singing Florestan and Emma Bell as Leonore. Since his definitive performance of Peter Grimes at ENO, Skelton is now recognised as one of the finest heldentenors of his generation, appearing at the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, New York, and Opéra National de Paris.
    [Show full text]
  • Tippett a Child of Our Time
    TIPPETT A CHILD OF OUR TIME Cynthia Haymon soprano Cynthia Clarey contralto London Symphony Chorus Damon Evans tenor London Symphony Orchestra Willard White bass Richard Hickox Greg Barrett Richard Hickox (1948 – 2008) Sir Michael Tippett (1905 – 1998) A Child of Our Time Part I 24:00 1 1 Chorus: ‘The world turns on its dark side’ 5:00 2 2 The Argument. Alto: ‘Man has measured the heavens with a telescope’ – Interludium 3:04 3 3 Scena. Chorus, Alto: ‘Is evil then good?’ 3:07 4 4 Bass (The Narrator): ‘Now in each nation there were some cast out...’ – 1:11 5 5 Chorus of the Oppressed: ‘When shall the usurers’ city cease...?’ 2:11 6 6 Tenor: ‘I have no money for my bread’ 3:26 7 7 Soprano: ‘How can I cherish my man in such days...?’ – 3:34 8 8 A Spiritual. Chorus, Soprano, Tenor: ‘Steal away’ 2:29 3 Part II 24:00 9 9 Chorus: ‘A star rises in mid-winter’ – 3:40 10 10 Bass (The Narrator): ‘And a time came...’ – 0:17 11 11 Double Chorus of Persecutors and Persecuted: ‘Away with them!’ – 0:57 12 12 Bass (The Narrator): ‘Where they could, they fled from the terror’ – 0:22 13 13 Chorus of the Self-righteous: ‘We cannot have them in our Empire’ – 0:49 14 14 Bass (The Narrator): ‘And the boy’s mother wrote a letter...’ 0:14 15 15 Scena. Solo Quartet (Mother, Aunt, Boy, Uncle): ‘O my son!’ – 1:29 16 16 A Spiritual. Chorus, Soprano, Tenor: ‘Nobody knows the trouble I see, Lord’ 1:17 17 17 Scena.
    [Show full text]
  • A Culture of Recording: Christopher Raeburn and the Decca Record Company
    A Culture of Recording: Christopher Raeburn and the Decca Record Company Sally Elizabeth Drew A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy The University of Sheffield Faculty of Arts and Humanities Department of Music This work was supported by the Arts & Humanities Research Council September 2018 1 2 Abstract This thesis examines the working culture of the Decca Record Company, and how group interaction and individual agency have made an impact on the production of music recordings. Founded in London in 1929, Decca built a global reputation as a pioneer of sound recording with access to the world’s leading musicians. With its roots in manufacturing and experimental wartime engineering, the company developed a peerless classical music catalogue that showcased technological innovation alongside artistic accomplishment. This investigation focuses specifically on the contribution of the recording producer at Decca in creating this legacy, as can be illustrated by the career of Christopher Raeburn, the company’s most prolific producer and specialist in opera and vocal repertoire. It is the first study to examine Raeburn’s archive, and is supported with unpublished memoirs, private papers and recorded interviews with colleagues, collaborators and artists. Using these sources, the thesis considers the history and functions of the staff producer within Decca’s wider operational structure in parallel with the personal aspirations of the individual in exerting control, choice and authority on the process and product of recording. Having been recruited to Decca by John Culshaw in 1957, Raeburn’s fifty-year career spanned seminal moments of the company’s artistic and commercial lifecycle: from assisting in exploiting the dramatic potential of stereo technology in Culshaw’s Ring during the 1960s to his serving as audio producer for the 1990 The Three Tenors Concert international phenomenon.
    [Show full text]
  • 2018–2019 Annual Report
    18|19 Annual Report Contents 2 62 From the Chairman of the Board Ensemble Connect 4 66 From the Executive and Artistic Director Digital Initiatives 6 68 Board of Trustees Donors 8 96 2018–2019 Concert Season Treasurer’s Review 36 97 Carnegie Hall Citywide Consolidated Balance Sheet 38 98 Map of Carnegie Hall Programs Administrative Staff Photos: Harding by Fadi Kheir, (front cover) 40 101 Weill Music Institute Music Ambassadors Live from Here 56 Front cover photo: Béla Fleck, Edgar Meyer, by Stephanie Berger. Stephanie by Chris “Critter” Eldridge, and Chris Thile National Youth Ensembles in Live from Here March 9 Daniel Harding and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra February 14 From the Chairman of the Board Dear Friends, In the 12 months since the last publication of this annual report, we have mourned the passing, but equally importantly, celebrated the lives of six beloved trustees who served Carnegie Hall over the years with the utmost grace, dedication, and It is my great pleasure to share with you Carnegie Hall’s 2018–2019 Annual Report. distinction. Last spring, we lost Charles M. Rosenthal, Senior Managing Director at First Manhattan and a longtime advocate of These pages detail the historic work that has been made possible by your support, Carnegie Hall. Charles was elected to the board in 2012, sharing his considerable financial expertise and bringing a deep love and further emphasize the extraordinary progress made by this institution to of music and an unstinting commitment to helping the aspiring young musicians of Ensemble Connect realize their potential. extend the reach of our artistic, education, and social impact programs far beyond In August 2019, Kenneth J.
    [Show full text]
  • Britten Connections a Guide for Performers and Programmers
    Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers by Paul Kildea Britten –Pears Foundation Telephone 01728 451 700 The Red House, Golf Lane, [email protected] Aldeburgh, Suffolk, IP15 5PZ www.brittenpears.org Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers by Paul Kildea Contents The twentieth century’s Programming tips for 03 consummate musician 07 13 selected Britten works Britten connected 20 26 Timeline CD sampler tracks The Britten-Pears Foundation is grateful to Orchestra, Naxos, Nimbus Records, NMC the following for permission to use the Recordings, Onyx Classics. EMI recordings recordings featured on the CD sampler: BBC, are licensed courtesy of EMI Classics, Decca Classics, EMI Classics, Hyperion Records, www.emiclassics.com For full track details, 28 Lammas Records, London Philharmonic and all label websites, see pages 26-27. Index of featured works Front cover : Britten in 1938. Photo: Howard Coster © National Portrait Gallery, London. Above: Britten in his composition studio at The Red House, c1958. Photo: Kurt Hutton . 29 Further information Opposite left : Conducting a rehearsal, early 1950s. Opposite right : Demonstrating how to make 'slung mugs' sound like raindrops for Noye's Fludde , 1958. Photo: Kurt Hutton. Britten Connections A guide for performers and programmers 03 The twentieth century's consummate musician In his tweed jackets and woollen ties, and When asked as a boy what he planned to be He had, of course, a great guide and mentor. with his plummy accent, country houses and when he grew up, Britten confidently The English composer Frank Bridge began royal connections, Benjamin Britten looked replied: ‘A composer.’ ‘But what else ?’ was the teaching composition to the teenage Britten every inch the English gentleman.
    [Show full text]
  • The English Concert – Biography
    The English Concert – Biography The English Concert is one of Europe’s leading chamber orchestras specialising in historically informed performance. Created by Trevor Pinnock in 1973, the orchestra appointed Harry Bicket as its Artistic Director in 2007. Bicket is renowned for his work with singers and vocal collaborators, including in recent seasons Lucy Crowe, Elizabeth Watts, Sarah Connolly, Joyce DiDonato, Alice Coote and Iestyn Davies. The English Concert has a wide touring brief and the 2014-15 season will see them appear both across the UK and abroad. Recent highlights include European and US tours with Alice Coote, Joyce DiDonato, David Daniels and Andreas Scholl as well as the orchestra’s first tour to mainland China. Harry Bicket directed The English Concert and Choir in Bach’s Mass in B Minor at the 2012 Leipzig Bachfest and later that year at the BBC proms, a performance that was televised for BBC4. Following the success of Handel’s Radamisto in New York 2013, Carnegie Hall has commissioned one Handel opera each season from The English Concert. Theodora followed in early 2014, which toured West Coast of the USA as well as the Théâtre des Champs Elysées Paris and the Barbican London followed by a critically acclaimed tour of Alcina in October 2014. Future seasons will see performances of Handel’s Hercules and Orlando. The English Concert’s discography includes more than 100 recordings with Trevor Pinnock for Deutsche Grammophon Archiv, and a series of critically acclaimed CDs for Harmonia Mundi with violinist Andrew Manze. Recordings with Harry Bicket have been widely praised, including Lucy Crowe’s debut solo recital, Il caro Sassone.
    [Show full text]
  • That to See How Britten Handles the Dramatic and Musical Materials In
    BOOKS 131 that to see how Britten handles the dramatic and musical materials in the op- era is "to discover anew how from private pain the great artist can fashion some- thing that transcends his own individual experience and touches all humanity." Given the audience to which it is directed, the book succeeds superbly. Much of it is challenging and stimulating intellectually, while avoiding exces- sive weightiness, and at the same time, it is entertaining in the very best sense of the word. Its format being what it is, there are inevitable duplications of information, and I personally found the Garbutt and Garvie articles less com- pelling than the remainder of the book. The last two articles of Brett's, excel- lent as they are, also tend to be a little discursive, but these are minor reserva- tions. For anyone who cares for this masterwork of twentieth-century opera, Downloaded from https://academic.oup.com/oq/article/4/3/131/1587210 by guest on 01 October 2021 or for Britten and his music, this book is obligatory reading. Carlisle Floyd Peter Grimes/Gloriana Benjamin Britten English National Opera/Royal Opera Guide 24 Nicholas John, series editor London: John Calder; New York: Riverrun Press, 1983 128 pages, $5.95 (paper) The English National Opera/Royal Opera Guides, small paperbacks with siz- able contents, are among the best introductions available to the thirty-plus operas published in the series so far. Each guide includes some essays by ac- knowledged authorities on various aspects of its subject, followed by a table of major musical themes, a complete libretto (original language plus transla- tion), a brief bibliography, and a discography.
    [Show full text]
  • Intertextuality, Intermediality and Mediality in Benjamin Britten's
    Intertextuality, Intermediality and Mediality in Benjamin Britten’s Nocturne, Op. 60 Von der Falkutät für Geistes- und Erziehungswissenschaften der Technischen Universität Carolo-Wilhelmina zu Braunschweig zur Erlangung des Grades Doktor der Philosophie (Dr. phil.) genehmigte Dissertation von Kenton Emery Barnes aus Toledo, Ohio, USA Eingereicht am 11.06.2012 Mündliche Prüfung am 28.08.2012 Referent: Prof. Dr. Rüdiger Heinze Korreferent: Prof. Dr. Hero Janßen Druckjahr 2017 Intertextualität, Intermedialität und Medialität in Benjamin Brittens Nocturne, Op. 60 Benjamin Britten ist nicht nur einer der am meisten verehrten Komponisten Großbritanniens, sondern zugleich auch einer der Komponisten, über die äußerst kontrovers diskutiert wird. Kritiker bewerten seine Musik auf sehr unterschiedliche Art und Weise. Einige halten seine Musik für zu altmodisch und zu sehr den Traditionen der Tonalität verbunden, andere bewerten sie als zu modern und schwer zugänglich, an Atonalität grenzend. Aber wie soll man Brittens Musik betrachten? Setzt sie die Traditionen der romantischen Komponisten des 19. Jahrhunderts fort? Ja, dies ist der Fall, jedoch bringt Britten diese Konventionen an ihre Grenzen. Ist Brittens Musik atonal? Obwohl manche Kritiker der Ansicht sind, dass seine Kompositionen abstrakt sind, bleibt er den etablierten Konventionen der Musik doch treu. Nicht zu bestreiten ist, dass Brittens gesangliche Kompositionen in ihrer Poesie nur schwer zu übertreffen sind. Er vertonte Gedichte von bedeutenden Dichtern wie Arthur Rimbaud, Victor Hugo, Paul Verlaine, Henry Longfellow, William Shakespare, Edith Sitwell, Emily Brontë und William Blake. Alles in allem vertonte Britten mehr als 300 Gedichte von nicht weniger als neunzig Dichtern. Die vorliegende Arbeit Intertextualität, Intermedialität und Medialität in Benjamin Brittens Nocturne, Op.
    [Show full text]