I know that in an age of instant gratification,where Stevie Wonder is the greatest songwriter of the twentieth century and Robbie Wiliams the greatest musician of the millennium, the idea s dismissed as 'elitist' but I do think that it is no bad thing if you have to struggle and listen repeatedly to a piece of music before it grows on you.The works I have had to dothis with,are usually the ones that haunt me endlessly.

I always found this with Tippett's works, most of which I was fortunate enough to hear the premieres from the '60s onwards,and I remember some of Britten's took a while.The exception was 'Death in Venice' which simply swept me away at first hearing.I thought it was utterly 'right' from start to finish.

 #47       This most refreshing series concludes with "Owen Wingrave", next Sunday, and has convincingly shown Radio 3 at its best.

All the contributors understood the work on-hand and each programe left me enlightened and stimulated to further enquiry.

Indeed, I've returned to a recording of each opera, either on CD or DVD and, as I write, my off-air video of the 1971 production of "Owen Wingrave" is being transferred to to DVD.   I made this recording in 1993 and note that it also includes a"Live" Royal Albert Hall performance of the "War Requiem" with the LSO, conducted by Mstislav Rostropovich; Makvala Kasrashvili, Anthony Rolfe Johnson  Bryn Terfel as soloists.

Fortuitously, Jack Clayton's film version of "The Innocents" (1962) and Peter Ustinov's adaptation of Herman Melville's novel, "Billy Budd" (1962), Region 1, are now on DVD to complement the Britten adaptations.   Both films have considerable merit.

"A Midsummer Night's Dream" had an ideal contributor in Sir Peter Hall, as along with BB during the renaissance of the 60's, he liberated the play, at the RSC, from a standard prettiness; the "voice-beautiful" and statuesque posturing which remained as a hangover from a Victorian/Edwardian age.   Pretty stage pictures, usually offset by Mendelssohn's delightful score, rounded-off with the mechanicals enactment of the lamentable tale of "Pyramus & Thisbe" to please us groundlings.   

Hall, at Stratford, succeeded in mining the text for its manifold meanings, rather than vocalising; as Britten astonished us, at Aldeburgh, by tipping the balance in favour of a dark and complex musical subtext.  It still amazes after repeated hearings.   Sometimes downright wicked and delicious!   The combination of Britten/Hall, in "The Dream" had to wait until later at Glyndebourne.

In 1970, Peter Brook capitalised by using a circus setting, against a dazzling white cyclorama setting and bright lighting when magic and transformation became the key elements, as opposed to the dark and shady settings of the dream.

A scholarly treatise examining these key productions alongside Britten's opera is long overdue.

Didn't Sir Peter continue at Glyndebourne, in the 70's, by freeing "Cosi fan Tutte" - usually portayed as a well-sung but farcical romp - from neglect by focussing attention on human frailty, rather than the "Charley's Aunt" patter of disguise?

Like Mary Chambers, I too, was tantalised by Hall's comments in which he made his preference for, say, folk music in the "Pyramus & Thisbe" sequence.     I doubt whether Britten would have compromised as Philip Brett's introductory notes, in the Decca CD recording, indicate Britten's mischievous enjoyment in his parody of 19th century Italian opera.   However, I'd dearly like to know what Sir Peter meant here, besides the obvious  - he may have envisaged something more exquisite in the parody.  Intriguing.

Best of all, I relished Hall's uneqivocal view that the Britten "Dream" missed lots of Shakespeare but, instead, we got lots of Britten in its place.     I'll happily settle for that.

Bws,        Stanley

Didn't the Baz Luhrmann production win the Critics' Prize at the Edinburgh Festival? Not that that would have impressed Britten. I didn't see it myself.

I've always thought it was mainly Donizetti and perhaps Bellini who were being parodied. I don't think it's a myth that Pears (as Flute/Thisby) did a notable impression of Joan Sutherland, who the year before had caused a bit of a sensation in London with her Lucia di Lammermoor - surely no coincidence?

Stanley/Richard Sheridan: I don't think the Owen Wingrave programme is the final one, is it? I'm sure we get Death in Venice as well.

After Pyramus' death 'Thisby' has a little Mad Scene with solo flute - no, that's certainly no coincidence. But Wall's little solos are in Sprechstimme, and I vaguely remember them being 12-note writing as far as the voice is concerned.

Is anyone who knows the score a little better than I do and who isn't listening to a Graupner overture able to supply other parody targets in that scene?

I had always thought it was mostly Donizetti, and Lucia in particular, but must have another listen to 'Wall'. That one hadn't occurred to me before. 'Pyramus' soars into something a bit Puccini-like perhaps when he gets a bit carried away with 'O, sweet, O lovely wall'?

I suppose the objection (which I don't really share) might be that Britten invites us to laugh 'at' Italian opera whereas in Shakespeare we're not so much laughing 'at' theatre but sharing in the excitement of Bottom et al discovering and inventing 'theatre' and theatrical conventions for themselves. I'm always 100% on their side anyway against the irritating jokey interventions from the court. I always want to 'Shush' them all fiercely, even if I am usually in love with Helena at that point.   



 

Sad to see that Colin Graham, an important director of many Britten operas, died on Friday last week. Another link gone with that generation centred on Britten, Aldeburgh, the English Opera Group, English Music Theatre and the founding years of English National Opera.   

http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article2439498.ece

http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2053228,00.html

Still, if you had to have those two people for those two pieces I think they've got it the right way round. Given how central Shirley-Quirk is to Death in Venice as an auditory and dramatic experience...