Peter Grimes & Gloriana - English National Opera Guide 24 (includes libretti)

This is a double volume dedicated to two masterpieces by
Benjamin Britten

While the 1945 première of Peter Grimes established Britten as a composer of international standing, Gloriana, which was actually composed for an historic event (the coronation of Elizabeth II), has never enjoyed a comparable fame

The variety of mood, characterisation and pace, in each, illustrates Britten’s exceptional gift for theatre - a view borne out by the recollections of the artists who created the title roles, Peter Pears and Joan Cross

Commentaries on the scores reveal, for instance, how much the popular concert extracts (the Sea Interludes from Grimes and the ‘Choral Dances’ from Gloriana) gain from their context in the dramas

The libretti are particularly interesting: the essay by E.M. Forster - the inspiration for Grimes - is reprinted here, and Michael Holroyd discusses Lytton Strachey’s controversial Elizabeth and Essex - the source for Gloriana

In sum, this is a celebration of two works by the greatest opera composer of the second half of the 20th century

English National Opera Guides are ideal companions to the opera. They provide stimulating introductory articles together with the complete text of each opera in English and the original where appropriate