CD-Charts Position 31
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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 32
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Britten conducts Britten Vol.3

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by: Benjamin Britten

Release Date September 19, 2005
The title Britten conducts Britten Operas is a bit misleading - all the pieces in this extensive set are choral works. All have been assembled from Decca's catalogue of definitive performances conducted mainly by the composer himself. A few of the works don't appear to be still available as single disks - so if you want a copy, you will have to buy this set. But at the price of just over £2 per CD, who can complain? Highlight of the set for me was the War Requiem. The only downside - and it's a fairly big one - there's a booklet containing track listings and notes about the music but no libretti, unlike the single disc issues of these pieces which had libretti.

CD-Charts Position 33
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Britten: Curlew River

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from: London

Release Date June 07, 1989
Brilliant - because this performance of Curlew River draws you in and makes you 'feel' the drama. Curious - because if you follow Britten's score, you discover that in a couple of places this performance (directed by Britten himself) departs from the score in terms of timing ... if one reads the score literally. I don't doubt that Britten knew exactly what he wanted - we are after all talking about a man who could compose an opera in his head and then write it down faster than I can even transcribe a score manually, so I take my hat off to him. It's just that this is about the only example I know of a recording of a Britten work, directed by the composer, in which what I hear doesn't quite match up with what I see in the score. HOWEVER don't let this put ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 34
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Britten conducts Britten: Opera Vol.2

Search: Britten
by: Benjamin Britten

Release Date November 08, 2004
Brilliant - because this performance of Curlew River draws you in and makes you 'feel' the drama. Curious - because if you follow Britten's score, you discover that in a couple of places this performance (directed by Britten himself) departs from the score in terms of timing ... if one reads the score literally. I don't doubt that Britten knew exactly what he wanted - we are after all talking about a man who could compose an opera in his head and then write it down faster than I can even transcribe a score manually, so I take my hat off to him. It's just that this is about the only example I know of a recording of a Britten work, directed by the composer, in which what I hear doesn't quite match up with what I see in the score. HOWEVER don't let this put ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 35
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Britten conducts Britten: Opera Vol.1

Search: Britten
by: Benjamin Britten

Release Date May 10, 2004
Brilliant - because this performance of Curlew River draws you in and makes you 'feel' the drama. Curious - because if you follow Britten's score, you discover that in a couple of places this performance (directed by Britten himself) departs from the score in terms of timing ... if one reads the score literally. I don't doubt that Britten knew exactly what he wanted - we are after all talking about a man who could compose an opera in his head and then write it down faster than I can even transcribe a score manually, so I take my hat off to him. It's just that this is about the only example I know of a recording of a Britten work, directed by the composer, in which what I hear doesn't quite match up with what I see in the score. HOWEVER don't let this put ... Read More:

CD-Charts Position 36
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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: