Details

As with Britten's more better-known opera The Turn of the Screw, this story was taken from Henry James and has ghostly overtones. Its two acts follow the impact on a family with a proud military history when their son as 'heir to the Wingrave flag of glory' rejects what the history represents. Gazing at the ancestral portraits he finds his own image not in them, but 'in peace', yet his innately violent nature proves a challenge that can only be defeated through one final terrible action. Sun g in English with English supertitles. Running time: 2hrs 15mins approx.

Cast/Performers

Ross Ramgobin (Owen Wingrave), Jonathan Summers (Spencer Coyle), Isaiah Bell (Lechmere), Susan Bullock (Miss Wingrave), Samantha Crawford (Mrs Coyle), Janis Kelly (Mrs Julian), Catherine Backhouse (Kate), Richard Berkeley-Steele (General Sir Philip Wingrave), James Way (Ballad singer)

Creatives/Company

Music: Benjamin Britten
Lyrics: Myfanwy Piper (after Henry James's short story Opera in two acts)
Producer(s): Aldeburgh Festival, Edinburgh International Festival
Company: Britten-Pears Orchestra
Conductor: Mark Wigglesworth
Director: Neil Bartlett
Design: Simon Daw
Costume: Sue Willmington
Lighting: Chris Davey
Choreographer: Ian Scott