Britten: acclaimed new Gloriana staging in St Louis(August 2005) A feast of Britten operas in the USA over the summer has included major new productions of Gloriana at St Louis and Des Moines, Peter Grimes at Santa Fe, Paul Bunyan at Central City Opera in Colorado and Death in Venice at Glimmerglass. This increased American focus on the composer was acknowledged in the New York Times with a special ‘Best of Britten’ feature, with articles contributed by all the paper’s leading music critics.
Attracting particular attention was Colin Graham’s production of Gloriana at the Opera Theater of St Louis, conducted by Britten specialist Steuart Bedford, and "with Christine Brewer magnificent as Queen Elizabeth I" (andante.com). Graham worked closely with Britten on his later operas, and directed Gloriana’s successful revival at Sadler’s Wells in 1966. Since he became OTSL’s Artistic Director in the 1980s, the company has staged eleven of the composer’s works, including this "stunning new production. The good news is that Gloriana is slowly entering the repertory on both sides of the pond." (Chicago Tribune) "This is top-drawer Britten…The glory of Gloriana comes from Britten’s skill at evoking Elizabethan music – dances, masques, lute songs and airs, all processed through his modernist sensibility to create wrong-note chords, irregular phrase lengths, slippery tonalities. Despite the stirring public scenes, whole stretches of Gloriana, especially the private moments with the queen, have the intimacy of chamber opera." New York Times "Gloriana, filled with wonderful music throughout, deserves to be seen and heard. With a score that juggles spectacle with intimate human emotion…it calls for a singer who can handle the considerable demands – for vocalism, dramatic ability and sheer stamina – of the title role. OTSL has her in Christine Brewer… Her voice is big but pure, golden of tone, flawlessly produced and capable of great subtleties… Dramatically, her Elizabeth is as complex as the real thing…" MusicalAmerica.com "Graham firmly establishes that Britten not only wrote a superb, national grand opera but also provided dramatic sopranos with a magnificent role. Such arias as the Queen’s prayer that ends Act I, her avowal of dedication to her people and her final wonderful spoken and sung monologues are Verdian in their splendour: as music and drama, Gloriana is Britten’s Don Carlos." Sunday Telegraph A new fully-illustrated guide to Britten’s operas – a collaboration between the Britten Estate, Boosey & Hawkes and Faber Music – is currently in preparation. Explore the operas of Britten at our Opera Website. > Further information on Work: Gloriana Photo: Opera Theater St Louis / Ken Howard > News Search |
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