The Operas of Benjamin Britten. Expression and Evasion

The delicate balance between private and public communication, and the tension between art as self-expression and art as moral resolution were key concerns in Britten's music. Seymour examines ways in which Britten's operas explored and articulated the inherent ambiguity and latent sexuality of music, particularly song, and suggests that Britten's operas may illustrate his search for a public 'voice' which would embody, communicate, and perhaps resolve his private beliefs and anxieties.
Analyses of Britten's operas from Paul Bunyan to Death in Venice, the three Church Parables, and several of the 'children's operas' offer evidence that, for Britten, opera was the natural medium through which to explore, express and, paradoxically, repress his private concerns. CLAIRE SEYMOUR is an Opera Studies Tutor at Rose Bruford College, Kent.

CONTENIDO:

1- Introduction
2- Paul Bunyan
3- Peter Grimes
4- The Rape of Lucretia
5- Albert Herring
6- The Little Sweep
7- Billy Budd
8- Gloriana
9- The Turn of the Screw
10- Noye's Fludde
11- A Midsummer Night's Dream
12- The Church Parables
13- Owen Wingrave
14- Death in Venice
15- Conclusion