Britten’s scores for films and radio-plays written during WWII to get first public performance, 70 years on. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Late Britten can be obscure and less approachable than earlier masterpieces like Peter Grimes and Albert Herring. Written for a small, spare ensemble, the music supports the story well enough, without falling into the successful opera trap of being emotionally involving. One admires rather than loves the music. Tony Palmer’s fine film of Britten’s last opera was made at the instigation of the tenor, Peter Pears, Britten’s long-time partner. Pears was too frail to play the part which Britten had written for him, and Australian tenor, Robert Gard, was gifted with the role of the jaded Aschenbach, which he accomplished superbly. Gard, now retired, had long been noted for his superb diction and deep musicality, making him an ideal successor to the tradition established by Pears. I have no hesitation in saying that I prefer Gard’s singing to that of Pears himself, whose vocal mannerisms from mid-career often reduced his artistry to vocal prissiness. Palmer has allowed his imagination to run free in many respects claiming the opera for the screen. In works of the mind, film is able to evoke more images and deal with illusions more successfully than can be accomplished on a stage. The opera is virtually…

A Britten score, believed to be long lost, surfaces after years in an American warehouse. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Rafael Bonachela’s erotically charged choreography shines new light on Benjamin Britten. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Flu lays low both leads but this tale of municipal committees and May Kings is still quids in.

Now a sprightly 86, Australian tenor Robert Gard looks back on filming the role of Aschenbach for Tony Palmer. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Britten's response to the Vietnam War receives an auspicious Aussie premiere at long last.

The Albert Herring co-stars on Britten, bad behaviour and bringing up a baby together.

Lost for 68 years, Benjamin Britten’s Roman Wall Blues has been recorded and released for free download. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Richard Jones’ lively ‘retro pageant’ take on Britten’s notorious flop proves anything but “Boriana”. Continue reading Get unlimited digital access from $4 per month Subscribe Already a subscriber? Log in

Sydney Philharmonia Choirs plan to pop the bubbly while Cheryl Barker and Stuart Skelton cut the cake(s).

So apparently Benjamin Britten once died, and to prove it the BBC is making a docu-drama about his final decade. Well, it is the centenary, after all, and the English sure do love him. It’s taken most of the art out of guessing what Oxford ensembles might programme over the course of 2013. Actually, it turns out that some of Britten’s lesser-known choral music is pretty extraordinary. This livens things up no end if you happen to sing with Schola Cantorum of Oxford (as I do, having unaccountably passed the audition back in October). Schola has collaborated with the BBC several times recently on composer profile pieces, and we duly fronted up to the chapel at St Peter’s College – which is also our usual rehearsal space – on 11 February. Our task: to be filmed singing three Britten numbers while not stuffing up too badly or accidentally looking into a camera. Upon arrival, it was a bit like the first five minutes of a Doctor Who episode – all frosted blue light and dry ice, with unknown backlit entities lumbering through the murkiness from time to time. Sadly, we weren’t permitted to pretend to land a TARDIS, nor even…