Britten gloriana libretto pdf Continue Opera in three acts Libretto by William Plomer, after Lytton Strachey's Elizabeth and Essex Setting: England, Approximately 1600 Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes First performance: 8 June 1953, Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London' Elizabeth First: Soprano Robert Devereux (Earl of Essex): Tenor Francis (Countess of Essex): Mezzo-Soprano Charles Blount (Lord Mountjoy): Baritone Penelope (Lady Rich) : Bass Henry Caffe (Essex Satellite): Baritone Lady in Waiting: Soprano Blind Ballad Singer: Bass Recorder Norwich: Bass Record housewife: Mezzo-Soprano Spirit Mask: Tenor Master of Ceremonies: Tenor, Ladies and Gentlemen from Home, Courtiers, Maskers, Old Ladies: Time, Concord, Country Girls, Rustics, At the royal jousting tournament, the ambitious Earl of Essex chooses to fight Lord Mountjoy and wounded. The punishment of the queen Elizabeth is that from now on they must always be present in court together. They become friends. Cecil warns his monarch about the incompetence of Essex and the possible threat of armada from Spain. Working on his love for him, Essex flatters the queen and asks to be appointed by her deputy in Ireland to suppress the rebellious Tyrone. Elizabeth temporises, aware of his position as monarch and wary of his impetuousness. Act 2. In Norwich, the queen is greeted by citizens and entertained by a mask of Time and Consent. At the Earl's London home, his sister Lady Rich and her love Mountjoy are planning their progress to power: his wife advises caution. At the grand ball at Whitehall Palace, the queen, seeing Lady Essex's luxurious dress as an insult, insists that the ladies change after a tense dance; she appears in an abusive dress that is too small for her to shame Lady Essex. Essex is furious but relented when Elizabeth announces an appointment he has long craved and sends him to Ireland. Act 3. His campaign, however, failed, and on his unexpected return he insists on acknowledging the monarch while she dresses: he confronts an old woman without a wig or makeup. He pleads his business, but she is unconvincing and later Cecil warns her of his schemes to replace her. In London, Essex supporters are failing in their attempts to win the nation to revolt. Essex is condemned, and when the MP is his wife, sister and friend begging him to go badly awry, Elizabeth signs a warrant for his execution. In the final scene, the dying monarch recalls the ordeal she endured during her reign. 1. Gloriana's idea first came to Britten's mind while he talk to the Earl of Harewood about nationalism in opera during a ski holiday in Austria. 2. Britten's notes suggest that he initially considered the inclusion of Mary, the queen of Scotland, in Gloriana's plot, but in the end he decided not to include her in the cast. 3. Britten had a number of National Gallery postcards of famous Renaissance figures, including Elizabeth I and the Earl of Essex, on his desk as he worked on music for Gloriana to keep it in mind of the period in which the opera was set. 4. When Imogen Holst noticed the playful rhythm of the boys' choir in the final act of the opera, Britten admitted that he was able to compose such mischievous music because he was still thirteen. 5. The queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attended a dinner at the home of the Earl and Countess of Harewood in May 1953, at which they received a preview of some of the music from the opera. Gloriana premiered at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden on 8 June 1953, six days after the coronation of Elizabeth II, to which she is dedicated. 3 flutes (II, III doubling piccolo), 2 oboes, bark anglais, 2 clarinets in B flat and A, bass clarinet, 2 bassoon, double bassun, 4 horns, 3 tubes in C, 3 trombone, tuba timpani, 4 percussion (glockspeniel, woodblock, tambourine, side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, kimbal, there-there, whip, tubular bells in D, E, F, G, A, B flat and C), harp, celesta stringed stage instruments Law I scene I: On stage trumpets three Act II scene 3: On stage string and/or 5 wooden wind (scored ad lib), trumpet and tabor (small) Drum without snares) Outside the stage side drum (multiple) Act III scene 3: On the stage of Harp; Off-stage Side Drum, Bass Drum, Kimbal, Wind Machine Publisher Boosey and Hawkes Buy, hire or view the assessment of Aboriginal, Torres Strait Islander and other Indigenous people reported that this catalog contains names, records and images of deceased people and other content that may be culturally sensitive. Please note that you may see certain words or descriptions in this catalog that reflect the author's attitude or the period in which the item was created and can now be considered offensive. Website Credits for other purposes, see Gloriana (disambiguation). GlorianaOpera Benjamin BrittenComatmentist in 1968LibrettistUilam PlomerLangeEnglishes onElisabet and Essex: The Tragic Story of Lytton StracheiPremier1953 (1953) Royal Opera House, London Gloriana, Op. 53, is an opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten in the English libretto by William Plomer, based on 1928's Elizabeth and Essex's Lytton Strachey: The Tragic Story. The first performance was presented at the Royal Opera House in London in 1953 during the celebration of the coronation of queen Elizabeth II. The poet Edmund Spencer to his character, representing the queen Elizabeth I in his poem Fairy queen. It became a popular name given to Elizabeth I. It is written that troops in Tilbury greeted her with the cries of Gloriana, Gloriana, Gloriana, after the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588. The opera depicts the relationship between the queen Elizabeth and the Earl of Essex, and was written for the coronation of queen Elizabeth II in June 1953. Some in the opening room were disappointed by the opera, which presents the first Elizabeth as a sympathetic, but flawed, character motivated largely by vanity and desire. The premiere was one of Britten's few critical failures, and the opera was not included in The Full Recordings of Dekki, conducted by the composer. However, the symphonic suite extracted from the composer's opera (Opus 53a), which includes court dances, is often performed as a concert piece. The 22th anniversary of the composer, Brian Fairfax, conducted the concert performance on November 22, 1963, which was the first performance of the opera in any form since its first production in 1953. When the production toured in 1954 in Manchester and Birmingham, Joan Sutherland sang the role of Penelope. Gloriana's second production was undertaken by Sadler's Wells Opera in 1966 with Sylvia Fisher starring, directed by Colin Graham. In 1973, The Proms in London performed and recorded a live version directed by conductor Charles McKerras, based on the revival of The Sadlers' Wells Opera production of Colin Graham with Ava June and David Hillman as Elizabeth and Essex. Eleven more years were to pass before the recording, which appeared in 1984 under the direction of Mark Elder in the English National Opera (formerly Sadlers' Wells Opera). It was also based on the revival of Colin Graham's production, with Sarah Walker and Anthony Rolfe-Johnson as Elizabeth and Essex, and the production also toured in the US in New York, New Orleans and Texas. Other opera productions in the UK were undertaken by the Welsh National Opera in 1992 and Opera North in 1994. In Opera North the production was directed by Phyllida Lloyd with Josephine Barstow and Tom Randle as Elizabeth and Essex, under the direction of Paul Daniel, the production was extensively toured, revived and recorded in 1999. The Central City Opera (in Colorado) presented the North American premiere of the opera in 2001, starring Joyce Castle as Elizabeth I. The St. Louis Opera House edited the work in 2005, with Christine Brewer as Elizabeth I. The Royal Opera House in London presented a performance in June-July 2013, dedicated to both the 60th anniversary of the opera and the centenary of the birth of Britten. The play stars Susan Bullock, Toby Spence, Patricia Bardon and Mark Stone. Raleigh Voice type Premiere cast, 8 June 1953 (Conductor: John Pritchard) queen Elizabeth I soprano Joan Cross Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex tenor Peter Pierce Francis, Countess of Essex mezzo-soprano Monica Sinclair Charles Blount, Lord Mountjoy baritone Gerit Evans Penelope (Lady Rich) sister of Essex soprano Jennifer Vyvyan Sir Robert Cecil Secretary of the Council baritone Arnold issues Sir Walter Raleigh, Captain Guard bass Frederick Dahlberg Henry Cuffe Tenor William McAlpine Master of Ceremonies tenor David Tree City Crier baritone Rhydderch Davis Time dancer Desmond Doyle Concorde dancer Svetlana Beriosova Choir: Citizens, , masquers, old men, men and boys of Essex the following, advisors Dancers: Country Girls, Fisherman, Morris Dancers Actors: Pages, Ballad-Singer Runner, Ghost of the queen Elizabeth Musicians on stage: state trumpeters, dance orchestra, trumpet and tabor, gittern, drummer Summary Time: The End of the 16th century. Location: England. Act 1 Scene 1: Tournament Lord Mountjoy wins the jousting tournament. Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, provokes Mountjoy to fight him and is slightly injured. Queen Elizabeth comes and scolds the men for their jealousy. She asks that they attend her court as friends. Mountjoy and Essex put up, and the crowd praises Elizabeth. Scene 2: The queen's apartment, Nonsuch Elizabeth Palace and Cecil discuss the rivalry between Mountjoy and Essex. Cecil warns Elizabeth of the threat of another Armada from Spain and warns her that it would be dangerous to show too much affection for impulsive Essex.