CD-Charts Position 191
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Britten: A Midsummer Night's Dream

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from: London

Release Date March 22, 1990
This was the first opera I ever saw live, during its initial London run a few months after the Aldeburgh premiere. I still carry vivid memories of that evening as a magical experience. And magic certainly lies at the heart of this entrancing (almost literally) piece.

From the sounds of the forest breathing in the opening string glissandos to the fairies' glittering benediction on Duke Theseus house at the end, Britten conjures a wonderful array of colours and pictures from his relatively modest orchestra. Each group of characters is given its own distinctive orchestral palette - strings with woodwinds predominate for the Lovers, the trombone fills in its fatter, comical tones when the Rustics appear, horns add a touch of regality ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 192
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Britten conducts Britten: Opera Vol.2

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by: Benjamin Britten

Release Date November 08, 2004
This was the first opera I ever saw live, during its initial London run a few months after the Aldeburgh premiere. I still carry vivid memories of that evening as a magical experience. And magic certainly lies at the heart of this entrancing (almost literally) piece.

From the sounds of the forest breathing in the opening string glissandos to the fairies' glittering benediction on Duke Theseus house at the end, Britten conjures a wonderful array of colours and pictures from his relatively modest orchestra. Each group of characters is given its own distinctive orchestral palette - strings with woodwinds predominate for the Lovers, the trombone fills in its fatter, comical tones when the Rustics appear, horns add a touch of regality ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 193
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Britten: Peter Grimes

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by: Covent Garden Benjamin Britten, Covent Garden Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Peter Pears Chorus of the Royal Opera House

Release Date April 09, 2001
There have been many productions of Grimes around the world and a good few recordings made since this first one was committed to disc nearly half a century ago. From our perspective in the 21st Century it is hard to recall the huge impact made by the first production at Sadlers' Wells in 1946 and by this recording just a decade or so later. It's now easier to see the antecedents and ancestors of the piece - Verdi, Mahler, even Mozart. At the time it seemed a really revolutionary piece, not only for British but also for worldwide opera.

The recording, too, was something new. This was the first time that John Culshaw and his Decca team had fully implemented their ideas for making a real production out of a stereo opera recording. The original ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 194
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Britten conducts Britten: Opera Vol.1

Search: Britten
by: Benjamin Britten

Release Date May 10, 2004
There have been many productions of Grimes around the world and a good few recordings made since this first one was committed to disc nearly half a century ago. From our perspective in the 21st Century it is hard to recall the huge impact made by the first production at Sadlers' Wells in 1946 and by this recording just a decade or so later. It's now easier to see the antecedents and ancestors of the piece - Verdi, Mahler, even Mozart. At the time it seemed a really revolutionary piece, not only for British but also for worldwide opera.

The recording, too, was something new. This was the first time that John Culshaw and his Decca team had fully implemented their ideas for making a real production out of a stereo opera recording. The original ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 195
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Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus [CASSETTE]

Search: Britten
by: Minister Timothy Britten

Release Date May 04, 2004
There have been many productions of Grimes around the world and a good few recordings made since this first one was committed to disc nearly half a century ago. From our perspective in the 21st Century it is hard to recall the huge impact made by the first production at Sadlers' Wells in 1946 and by this recording just a decade or so later. It's now easier to see the antecedents and ancestors of the piece - Verdi, Mahler, even Mozart. At the time it seemed a really revolutionary piece, not only for British but also for worldwide opera.

The recording, too, was something new. This was the first time that John Culshaw and his Decca team had fully implemented their ideas for making a real production out of a stereo opera recording. The original ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 196
Average Rating:

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Can't Nobody Do Me Like Jesus

Search: Britten
by: Timothy Britten

Release Date May 04, 2004
There have been many productions of Grimes around the world and a good few recordings made since this first one was committed to disc nearly half a century ago. From our perspective in the 21st Century it is hard to recall the huge impact made by the first production at Sadlers' Wells in 1946 and by this recording just a decade or so later. It's now easier to see the antecedents and ancestors of the piece - Verdi, Mahler, even Mozart. At the time it seemed a really revolutionary piece, not only for British but also for worldwide opera.

The recording, too, was something new. This was the first time that John Culshaw and his Decca team had fully implemented their ideas for making a real production out of a stereo opera recording. The original ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 197
Average Rating:

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Bach: St John Passion

Search: Britten
from: Double Decca

Release Date March 14, 1995
The Penguin guide accords this set a Rosette, and previous reviewers on amazon have been very positive. However, I would counsel caution before buying. I agree with the reviewer who mentions intonation problems with the boys choir. More generally, with the reverberant acoustic and large forces, in many contrapuntal choral passages the different musical lines become obscured and muddied - it becomes impossible to hear even a distinct pitch, let alone words, when there are fast semi-quaver's etc.

Peter Pears, of course, divides tastes - a love or loathe kind of tenor. Personally I'm a fan, and his contribution is strong. The biggest problem with this set is the other solo tenor, Robert Tear. Tear has the worst kind of wobbly wide-vibratoed tone - totally ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 198
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Britten conducts Britten Vol.4

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by: Benjamin Britten

Release Date November 13, 2006
A further instalment in Decca's re-release of Britten conducting his own work. This box set covers orchestral performances and song cycles and the performances are unique; Britten was the definitive conductor of his own work and one of the best accompanists of all time. The partnership between Britten and Pears in the tenor song cycles is almost psychic but there are good things here from Dietrich Fischer Dieskau too. Amazon offer this 7CD set at exceptional value - I paid about [...] a disc. And - put out the flags - the accompanying booklet contains the words of the songs and translations, unlike the previous volumes in this set.