Queen Elizabeth I Susan Bullock
Earl of Essex Toby Spence
Countess of Essex Patricia Bardon
Lord Mountjoy Mark Stone
Lady Rich Kate Royal
Sir Robert Cecil Jeremy Carpenter
Sir Walter Raleigh Clive Bayley
Ballad Singer Brindley Sherratt
Royal Opera Chorus
Orchestra of the Royal Opera House
Conductor Paul Daniel
Director Richard Jones

Recorded live at the Royal Opera House, June 2013

Central to the Royal Opera's centenary celebrations marking the birth of Benjamin Britten was Richard Jones's witty and insightful new production of the royal operatic pageant that Britten wrote to honour the Coronation, exploring the late life, love and death of Queen Elizabeth I. With powerfully characterised performances by Susan Bullock as Queen Elizabeth and Toby Spence as the dashing and treacherous Earl of Essex, Gloriana is revealed as at once a celebration and a tragedy.