Benjamin Britten
The Rise Of British Opera: A Brief History
The Royal Opera, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Scottish National Opera and Opera North are largely responsible for the opera we know and love today. The country-house festival in Glyndebourne in Sussex is also revered and takes place every year. Opera occurred in Britain for the first time in the 1600’s during an experimental performance under Charles II’s reign and has never looked back.
The first English opera was ‘The Siege of Rhodes, Part 1’ by Sir William Davenant in 1656 and thirty years later, Henry Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’ was unveiled to the public. Influential composers including Gluck and Handel travelled to London one hundred years later to showcase their own Italian-style operas. Their high-brow style was rivalled by John Gay’s street opera, ‘The Beggar’s Opera’ in 1728. This collection of folk ballads inspired a musical theatre movement. Gay’s popularity meant he was able to open the first Covent Garden opera house in 1732, which showcased opera, as well as musical and vaudeville theatre.
In the twentieth century, opera London flourished and the capital became a hub for composers and opera stars. The formation of the English Opera Group at Aldeburgh was set up because of popular dramatic operas by Benjamin Britten. English opera – and opera in English – became the heart of the establishment after the Second World War, with resident companies at the English National Opera and the Royal Opera being supported by the public.
By the time the 1950’s arrived, opera had taken on an international flavour, because of pressure from opera stars who were refusing to learn roles in English. Operatic performances were staged in Covent Garden in their original languages, which attracted stars such as Maria Callas and the young Luciano Pavarotti.
British opera continues to thrive in the 21st century, treating audiences to fresh interpretations of Mozart, Verdi and Wagner classics, as well as new-opera commissions.
The Young Person’s Guide to the Orchestra, Part1
