Search results
Categories: Operas by composer. Compositions by Benjamin Britten. Hidden category: Commons category link is on Wikidata.
- Paul Bunyan - Opérette - 2 acts - English. Libretto by W H Auden based on the American folktale. First performance at Brander Matthews Hall, New York on 5 May 1941.
- Peter Grimes - 3 acts - English. Libretto by Montagu Slater based on the poem The Borough by George Crabbe. First performance at Sadler's Wells, London on 7 June 1945.
- The Rape of Lucretia - 2 acts - English. Libretto by Ronald Duncan based on the play Le Viol de Lucrèce by André Obey. First performance at Glyndebourne on 12 July 1946.
- Albert Herring - 3 acts - English. Libretto by Eric Crozier based on the short story Le Rosier de Mme. Husson by Guy de Maupassant. First performance at Glyndebourne on 20 June 1947.
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). Britten was born in Lowestoft, Suffolk, the son of a dentist. He showed talent from an early age.
Operas. [edit] Paul Bunyan, Op. 17: Operetta in two acts, 114'. Libretto by W. H. Auden, after the American folktale. Premiered on 5 May 1941 at Brander Matthews Hall, New York. Published by Faber Music. Peter Grimes, Op. 33: Opera in a prologue and three acts, 147'. Libretto by Montagu Slater, after the poem The Borough by George Crabbe.
- Early Life and Education
- Career Highlights
- Later Life
Benjamin Britten (whose first name was officially Edward) was born on November 22nd, 1913, in the East Suffolk town of Lowestoft, England, to middle-class parents. Growing up in a nurturing and musically inclined household, his mother was an amateur singer and his father a dentist with a keen interest in music. Britten showed remarkable musical tal...
Composing music for documentary films, experimental theatre, and BBC features in the 1930s paved the way for Britten’s interest in writing opera, and his earliest work in the genre was Paul Bunyan(1941) to a libretto by W. H. Auden. Peter Grimes, premiered by Sadler’s Wells Opera (later ENO) a month after VE Day (1945), was a turning point in Benja...
In his final twelve years, Britten created notable works including the opera Death in Venice(1973) and three cello suites for Rostropovich – hailed as on par with Bach’s masterpieces. His last compositions, crafted after an unsuccessful heart operation, bravely confronted mortality – as seen in pieces like Phaedra(1975) and the last movement of the...
- November 22, 1913
- December 4, 1976
3 days ago · Benjamin Britten (born November 22, 1913, Lowestoft, Suffolk, England—died December 4, 1976, Aldeburgh, Suffolk) was a leading British composer of the mid-20th century, whose operas were considered the finest English operas since those of Henry Purcell in the 17th century.
Learn about Benjamin Britten, a pivotal figure in 20th-century opera, known for works like Peter Grimes and The Turn of the Screw.