IV - ‘You are potentially the greatest singer alive’: Late 1949 to January 1954: Letters 126–88

Summary

The early 1950s found Pears and Britten both flourishing with success, bolstered by an increase in commissions for new works from Britten and demand for Pears as a soloist, both in the UK and abroad. In addition to the hard work of composing and performing, they continued to oversee the English Opera Group, which experienced numerous financial and administrative difficulties, and to develop and expand the Aldeburgh Festival in keeping with their own standards and philosophical outlook. However, there came expectations of even greater achievement from audiences, critics, fellow musicians and, most significantly, from themselves.

By this time, Pears was in demand as both a concert artist and on the operatic stage, but with increasing pressures to perform he began to suffer from throat problems. Not surprisingly, he felt insecure about being unable to sing at his best before an audience. Thus, Britten's letters during this period are filled with reassurance; for example, after listening to a broadcast of Bach's St Matthew Passion, he writes ‘The voice sounds so full & so rich, & with so much variety, & this glorious musical phrasing […] There can never have been an Evangelist like you – it's wonderful to be born in your lifetime to hear you do it’ (Letter 158). With the weight of such high standards, it is no wonder that both men became so critical of their individual abilities and relied upon their appraisal of one another to ease their doubts. Britten acknowledges this in a letter of March 1951: ‘It was lovely to play [Billy Budd] to you, & you gave me back my confidence which had been slowly ebbing away. In a work of this size & tension that is one of one's greatest problems. I believe that is yours too – if one aims high (& you achieve your aims so often) one is so desparately ashamed when one knows one is missing them’ (Letter 157).

In truth, both men were working themselves to the point of exhaustion. Britten's physical ailments, coupled with the time constraints from working on two complex and significant operas – Billy Budd for the 1951 Festival of Britain and Gloriana, composed in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's coronation in 1953 – resulted in his being unable to give recitals with Pears as frequently as in the past.