Britten - A Midsummer Night’s Dream
£22.75
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Label: Testament
Cat No: SBT21515
Format: CD
Number of Discs: 2
Genre: Opera
Release Date: 9th September 2016
Contents
Artists
Alfred DellerJennifer Vyvyan
Leonide Massine II
Kevin Platts
Robert McCutcheon
Barry Ferguson
Michael Bauer
George Maran
Thomas Hemsley
Marjorie Thomas
April Cantelo
Forbes Robinson
Johanna Peters
Owen Brannigan
Norman Lumsden
Peter Pears
David Kelly
Edward Byles
Joseph Ward
English Opera Group Orchestra
Conductor
Benjamin BrittenWorks
A Midsummer Night's Dream, op.64Artists
Alfred DellerJennifer Vyvyan
Leonide Massine II
Kevin Platts
Robert McCutcheon
Barry Ferguson
Michael Bauer
George Maran
Thomas Hemsley
Marjorie Thomas
April Cantelo
Forbes Robinson
Johanna Peters
Owen Brannigan
Norman Lumsden
Peter Pears
David Kelly
Edward Byles
Joseph Ward
English Opera Group Orchestra
Conductor
Benjamin BrittenAbout
Perhaps the greatest single asset of the 1960 recording, though, is the chance to hear Alfred Deller’s very earliest performance as Oberon. Deller’s inclusion in the cast was one of Britten’s most original inspirations: nowadays counter-tenor roles are an essential part of the operatic palette in old and new music alike and gifted singers to sing them are plentiful, but just a few decades ago a counter-tenor was an exotic beast indeed. Sir Michael Tippett wrote of first hearing Deller’s voice: ‘In that moment the centuries rolled back’. For us, half a century and more already rolls back when we hear Deller in A Midsummer Night’s Dream: Deller’s voice is ironically now a historical phenomenon in itself.
Britten’s own interpretation of the opera would broaden over the years. Here the ink on the score is barely dry and some passages are unforgettably urgent: Oberon and Tytania’s opening duet has a compelling sweep, and the Act II quarrel of the lovers has an extra tinge of danger. The glorious choruses which end the second and third acts would certainly be given more time in later performances, but not always either to their benefit or to the advantage of the whole: ‘On the ground, sleep sound’ is all the more poignant if it, as here, never becomes static, and Puck’s epilogue can sound a little tacked-on if ‘Now until the break of day’ is allowed to wallow. Fortunately, there is no need to choose. We are all the richer for having two such distinct approaches to the opera in its early history at our disposal and since they both come direct from the composer himself, perhaps the not always helpful concept of a ‘definitive recording’ can usefully be called into question.
World premiere: Recorded in the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, 11 June 1960
Cast:
- Oberon, King of the Fairies: Alfred Deller
- Tytania, Queen of the Fairies: Jennifer Vyvyan
- Puck: Leonide Massine II
- Cobweb: Kevin Platts
- Mustardseed: Robert McCutcheon
- Moth: Barry Ferguson
- Peaseblossom: Michael Bauer
- Lysander: George Maran
- Demetrius: Thomas Hemsley
- Hermia, in love with Lysander: Marjorie Thomas
- Helena, in love with Demetrius: April Cantelo
- Theseus, Duke of Athens: Forbes Robinson
- Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons: Johanna Peters
- Bottom, a weaver: Owen Brannigan
- Quince, a carpenter: Norman Lumsden
- Flute, a bellows-mender: Peter Pears
- Snug, a joiner: David Kelly
- Snout, a tinker: Edward Byles
- Starveling, a tailor: Joseph Ward
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