On Site Opera will present Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw, at Wave Hill, a stunning 28-acre historic estate and now public gardens in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, from 25 to 27 October 2019. This operatic ghost story is perhaps the perfect piece to benefit from an immersive production. Its story will unfold in various locations around the estate, both indoors … [Read more...] about On Site Opera presents Britten’s The Turn of the Screw at the stunning Wave Hill estate in the Bronx
Benjamin Britten
Balanchine’s Dream sprinkles its magic fairy dust over La Scala for the last time
In the ‘60s, A Midsummer Night’s Dream was all the rage: Benjamin Britten’s opera premiered in 1960, Balanchine’s ballet opened in 1962, Ashton’s The Dream came along in 1964, and Peter Hall’s film (with future Dames Diana Rigg, Helen Mirren, and Judi Dench, among the cast) was in 1968. It was no passing fad. Both ballets are now set firmly in the repertoire, the opera is … [Read more...] about Balanchine’s Dream sprinkles its magic fairy dust over La Scala for the last time
Joyce DiDonato reveals her Desert Island Discs
Music runs to the very core of mezzosoprano Joyce DiDonato, guest on yesterday’s BBC Radio 4’s long-running and beautifully judged programme, Desert Island Discs. Even if she is tired before a show, everything changes when the music starts… “This business feeds me”. Her first disc to take to the desert island is to make her feel good: an Argentinian tango. Carlos … [Read more...] about Joyce DiDonato reveals her Desert Island Discs
Photos – First look at Britten’s Turn of the Screw at La Scala
Benjamin Britten’s masterpiece Turn of the Screw opens tonight at La Scala and runs until 17 October. It will be the first time that the opera has been sung in English at the theatre as it’s only other appearance, at the end of the ‘60s, was in Virginio Puecher’s production which was in Italian. The new production marks the debut in Milan of Danish director Kasper … [Read more...] about Photos – First look at Britten’s Turn of the Screw at La Scala
Benjamin Britten in photos with Frederick Ashton, W H Auden, E M Forster et al
Rare photographs of Benjamin Britten including family and personal snapshots from his boyhood and professional life are on display at at the National Portrait Gallery, ahead of his centenary this weekend. Spanning all sixty-three years of his life, it starts with a rarely-seen photograph of the composer at one-year-old and ends with the gallery’s newly-acquired 1984 portrait … [Read more...] about Benjamin Britten in photos with Frederick Ashton, W H Auden, E M Forster et al