Book contents
- Benjamin Britten in Context
- Composers in Context
- Benjamin Britten in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Bibliographic and In-Text Abbreviations
- Prologue
- Part I The Britten Circle(s)
- Part II British Musical Life
- Chapter 7 Composing in England
- Chapter 8 Britten and Film
- Chapter 9 Britten and the Radio
- Chapter 10 Recording a Musical Experience: Britten’s Works on Record and Television
- Chapter 11 Music Critics and the Press
- Chapter 12 Britten and English Opera
- Chapter 13 Festival Culture in the British Isles
- Chapter 14 Concert Life in Britain
- Chapter 15 Benjamin Britten and Folk Song
- Chapter 16 Educating the Nation
- Part III Britten and Other Composers
- Part IV Wordsmiths, Designers, and Performers
- Part V British Sociocultural, Religious, and Political Life
- Further Reading
- Index
Chapter 12 - Britten and English Opera
Myths and a (Chequered) History
from Part II - British Musical Life
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 March 2022
- Benjamin Britten in Context
- Composers in Context
- Benjamin Britten in Context
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Tables
- Notes on Contributors
- Acknowledgements
- Bibliographic and In-Text Abbreviations
- Prologue
- Part I The Britten Circle(s)
- Part II British Musical Life
- Chapter 7 Composing in England
- Chapter 8 Britten and Film
- Chapter 9 Britten and the Radio
- Chapter 10 Recording a Musical Experience: Britten’s Works on Record and Television
- Chapter 11 Music Critics and the Press
- Chapter 12 Britten and English Opera
- Chapter 13 Festival Culture in the British Isles
- Chapter 14 Concert Life in Britain
- Chapter 15 Benjamin Britten and Folk Song
- Chapter 16 Educating the Nation
- Part III Britten and Other Composers
- Part IV Wordsmiths, Designers, and Performers
- Part V British Sociocultural, Religious, and Political Life
- Further Reading
- Index
Summary
This chapter considers Britten’s unique position in the sometimes unstable history of English opera. While acknowledging his central significance as the composer who (almost) single-handedly revived its fortunes with the instant and phenomenal success of Peter Grimes in 1945, it offers a nuanced assessment that views his achievements as part of a much broader picture in which the genre was arguably never as moribund as traditional accounts (and those perpetuated by Britten himself) might suggest. After surveying the riches of the courtly masque and the stage works of Henry Purcell, Italian baroque opera in London, and the surprisingly healthy state of English-language opera in the nineteenth century, the chapter provides a concise overview of Britten’s steady output of operas post-Grimes and his wider significance as a canny entrepreneur who promoted the genre widely – and indeed internationally – at the helm of the English Opera Group.
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- Benjamin Britten in Context , pp. 103 - 110Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2022