Poll
Question:
What is your favorite Britten opera?
Option 1: Paul Bunyan
votes: 0
Option 2: Peter Grimes
votes: 2
Option 3: The Rape of Lucretia
votes: 1
Option 4: Albert Herring
votes: 1
Option 5: Beggar's Opera
votes: 0
Option 6: Let's Make An Opera (The Little Sweep)
votes: 0
Option 7: Billy Budd
votes: 0
Option 8: Gloriana
votes: 0
Option 9: The Turn of the Screw
votes: 2
Option 10: Noye's Fludde
votes: 0
Option 11: A Midsummer's Night Dream
votes: 1
Option 12: Owen Wingrave
votes: 1
Option 13: Death in Venice
votes: 1
Perhaps a hard decision for some and easy for others. I have to simply bow out of the poll for the simple fact that I haven't heard any of Britten's operas in their entirety (yet). This poll will be up for 100 days. Maybe this will give me some time to explore these works.
Anyway, have fun!
Why isn't Albert Herring there?
Is this a red herring, or don't you like kippers?
Quote from: The new erato on December 01, 2013, 09:48:55 AM
Why isn't Albert Herring there?
Was just about to say that. I truly enjoy that opera!
Quote from: The new erato on December 01, 2013, 09:48:55 AM
Why isn't Albert Herring there?
Is this a red herring, or don't you like kippers?
Corrected. Forgot about that one. I reset the votes back to '0' for the inclusion of this opera.
Hmm...stuck on three votes. I'm guessing that's me, Monkey Greg, and MI. :laugh:
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on December 02, 2013, 08:32:03 PM
Hmm...stuck on three votes. I'm guessing that's me, Monkey Greg, and MI. :laugh:
Yeah, I simply can't vote as I haven't any experience with Britten's operas (yet), but I'm continually being told
The Turn of the Screw,
Peter Grimes, and
Death in Venice are his finest moments in opera.
Quote from: Mirror Image on December 02, 2013, 08:35:06 PM
Yeah, I simply can't vote as I haven't any experience with Britten's operas (yet), but I'm continually being told The Turn of the Screw, Peter Grimes, and Death in Venice are his finest moments in opera.
Oh, I thought one of the votes was yours, MI. Yeah, Grimes is a great one - my fave. I also like Billy Budd. I haven't heard Death in Venice yet. The Hickox samples of Venice sound wonderful. It's high on my wish list.
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on December 02, 2013, 08:32:03 PM
Hmm...stuck on three votes. I'm guessing that's me, Monkey Greg, and MI. :laugh:
<<<<<<<<<<<This guy voted
I've only heard three and a half of them: Grimes, Turn of the Screw, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Goodall's Rape of Lucretia bits, so won't be voting - not yet anyway.
Death in Venice.
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on December 02, 2013, 08:50:24 PM
Oh, I thought one of the votes was yours, MI. Yeah, Grimes is a great one - my fave. I also like Billy Budd. I haven't heard Death in Venice yet. The Hickox samples of Venice sound wonderful. It's high on my wish list.
Death in Venice is certainly high on my priority list. I bought that Hickox recording a few nights ago. Look forward to diving into it, but I need to hear Bedford's performance as well.
Curlew River is another fave in the "overlooked" category, probably owing to its odd, experimental nature. Opera? Probably. Stage work? Certainly. Evocative? Definitely.
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Let me think: I've seen Paul Bunyan and Albert Herring on TV (PBS, naturally); have Peter Grimes, Billy Budd, and Rape of Lucretia and have listened to them more than once; Gloriana and Albert Herring in their CD versions sit in the listening pile.....RoL is my least favorite of the lot; I do (this might be slightly heretical) think BB is superior to PG. AH is another good one that may require a DVD version to properly appreciate. PB has at least one moment that should be on every Britten lover's list, a quartet of four supporting roles which I think is usually called the "Quartet of the Dispossessed" and can be found in the second act. Strange that Britten thought he could conquer Broadway with that work!
Turn of the Screw for me. I find the psychological elements so well interwoven with the music. When I hear the opening chords, I can't help but get shivers. It was an easy choice for me, and yet I really enjoy several of his operas tremendously.
Quote from: Dancing Divertimentian on December 05, 2013, 07:14:48 PM
Curlew River is another fave in the "overlooked" category, probably owing to its odd, experimental nature. Opera? Probably. Stage work? Certainly. Evocative? Definitely.
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A work I plan on exploring once the big Britten box arrives (I see a Dec. 11th delivery date via Amazon.de). I want to hear the other
Church Parables as well.
Quote from: Jeffrey Smith on December 05, 2013, 07:45:21 PM
I do (this might be slightly heretical) think BB is superior to PG.
Not too far-fetched as far as I can tell. Both works are top-notch.