Britten
Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten OM CH (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other vocal music, orchestral and chamber pieces. His best-known works include the opera Peter Grimes (1945), the War Requiem (1962) and the orchestral showpiece The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra (1945).
Born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, the son of a dentist, Britten showed talent from an early age. He studied at the Royal College of Music in London and privately with the composer Frank Bridge. Britten first came to public attention with the a cappella choral work A Boy was Born in 1934. With the premiere of Peter Grimes in 1945, he leapt to international fame. Over the next 28 years, he wrote 14 more operas, establishing himself as one of the leading 20th-century composers in the genre. In addition to large-scale operas for Sadler's Wells and Covent Garden, he wrote chamber operas for small forces, suitable for performance in venues of modest size. Among the best known of these is The Turn of the Screw (1954). Recurring themes in his operas include the struggle of an outsider against a hostile society and the corruption of innocence.
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Sir S. Rattle - Music of the 20th Century - Ep. 5 - Made in America (1996)
"Written and presented by Sir Simon Rattle, the foremost British conductor of our day, this series forms a fascinating introduction to, and overview of, the music of the twentieth century. Each of the seven programmes feature over thirty minutes of specially-shot music in performance, with Rattle...
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Death in Venice (2008)
Death in Venice by B.Britten, from Venezia Teatro La Fenice, 2008. Directed by Pier Luigi Pizzi, conductor Bruno Bartoletti, starring Scott Hendricks, Alessandro Riga, Marlin Miller, Danilo Palmieri and Razek-françois Bitar. Performed in English Subtitles in German, English, French and Italian.
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Death in Venice (2013)
Death in Venice by B.Britten, from English National Opera, 2013. Directed by Deborah Warner, conductor Edward Gardner, starring Tim Mead, Marcio Teixeira, Andrew Shore, Joyce Henderson, Sam Zaldivar, Laura Caldow, John Graham-Hall and Mia Angelina Mather/Xhuliana Shehu. Performed in English and s...
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Billy Budd (2017)
Billy Budd by B. Britten, from Teatro Real - Madrid, 2017. Directed by Deborah Warner, conductor Ivor Bolton, starring Duncan Rock, David Soar, Thomas Oliemans, Toby Spence, Brindley Sherratt, Jacques Imbrailo, Torben Jürgens and Christopher Gillet. Performed in English and subtitled in English, ...
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The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra (2017)
The Young Person's Guide To The Orchestra (Text adapted by Marin Alsop) by B.Britten, from Snape Maltings Concert Hall, 2017. Conductor Marin Alsop, starring Marin Alsop and Britten-pears Orchestra. Performed in English and Subtitled in French, German and Korean.
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Death in Venice (2014)
Death in Venice by B. Britten, from Teatro Real, 2014. Directed by Willy Decker, conductor Alejo Pérez, starring Anthony Roth Costanzo, Duncan Rock, John Daszak, Leigh Melrose and Tomasz Borczyk.
Adapted from Thomas Mann’s 1912 novella, Death in Venice was Benjamin Britten’s last opera, the comp...
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Frank bridge (2007)
Ted Brandsen, the National Ballet’s new artistic director, was ready to welcome him with open arms and after eighteen years Van Manen returned as their regular choreographer. The first work he created for the company in this capacity were the Frank Bridge Variations, set to nine out of the eleven...
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Leaving Home - Orchestral Music in the 20th Century - Episode 6 - After the Wake
Written and presented by Sir Simon Rattle, the foremost British conductor of our day, this series forms a fascinating introduction to, and overview of, the music of the twentieth century. Each of the seven programmes feature over thirty minutes of specially-shot music in performance, with Rattle ...
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The Rape of Lucretia (2015)
The Rape of Lucretia by B. Britten from Glyndebourne Festival Opera, performed at Glyndebourne Festival Theatre, Glyndebourne, 2015. Directed by Fiona Shaw, conductor Leo Hussain. Starring Christine Rice (Lucretia), Allan Clayton (Male Chorus), Kate Royal (Female Chorus), Duncan Rock (Tarquinius)...
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Great Arias - Philip Langridge – Peter Grimes (1994)
Great Arias Philip Langridge - Peter Grimes: "Sea wall" from English National Opera, 1994. Conductor David Atherton.
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Great Arias - Sir Thomas Allen – Billy Budd (1995)
Great Arias Thomas Allen - Billy Budd: "They'll lash me in a hammock" from English National Opera, 1995. Conductor David Atherton.
