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
Benjamin Britten
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
Pavarotti water, Bocelli wine, now Britten beer
San Pellegrino teamed up with the Luciano Pavarotti Foundation to create special bottles of Big Lucy mineral water. Andrea Bocelli, together with brother Alberto, produce a range of wines from the family home in Lajatico, near Pisa. Now, demonstrating that this isn't just a tenor tendency, Aldeburgh Music's Chief Executive, Jonathan Reekie, has commissioned a Benjamin Britten … [Read more...] about Pavarotti water, Bocelli wine, now Britten beer
Britten and Pears’ admiration for Ravi Shankar: Unbelievable skill and invention
A 1950s note written on a letterhead when composer Benjamin Britten and his partner, the singer Peter Pears, were saying in Mumbai's Taj Mahal hotel has come to light, which shows their admiration for India's Pandit Ravi Shankar, whom they called "the real thing".The letter and diary extracts will be shown in the museum in the Red House in Suffolk, where Britten and Pears … [Read more...] about Britten and Pears’ admiration for Ravi Shankar: Unbelievable skill and invention
Benjamin Britten “had a knack for discovering child talent”
Janette Heffernan was the first girl to sing in the composer’s ghost opera. I first met him when I was aged 15, when he was looking for children for the Aldeburgh premiere of Noye’s Fludde, in 1958. I was at ballet school at the time, but I’d had singing lessons so my teachers put me forward for an audition. I knew Britten’s music — I’d seen his Prince of Pagodas four times at … [Read more...] about Benjamin Britten “had a knack for discovering child talent”
A gay painter, an outraged headmistress, and Billy Elliott’s literary dad: opera and homophobia up north
Lee Hall, the creator of Billy Elliott, has caused a Twitter storm accusing Opera North of being homophobic. He is the librettist of 'Bleached', an exciting project based in Bridlington, East Yorkshire, to create a new community opera as a major part of Opera North’s two-year project with the seaside town. His brief was to think: Benjamin Britten, the seaside, inclusivity and … [Read more...] about A gay painter, an outraged headmistress, and Billy Elliott’s literary dad: opera and homophobia up north