Owen Wingrave (Op. 85) is an opera in two acts by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper after a short story by Henry James. BBC television commissioned an opera from Britten in 1966, and in 1968 he and Piper started working on the libretto, and the work was completed by August 1970. Britten had been aware of the story since his work on a previous opera, The Turn of the Screw, also based on a Henry James story of the same name. Britten originally intended the work for both television and the stage, although it is rarely seen in either medium. The premier was recorded at Snape Maltings in November 1970 and first broadcast in May 1971. The music is influenced by Britten's interest in 12-tone serialist techniques. London's Royal Opera House will perform the work in an uncommon revival in the April of 2007, in the Linbury Theatre Studio. Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh, OM (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) was a British composer, conductor and pianist. ... Myfanwy Piper (28 March 1911 – 18 January 1997) was an English art critic and opera librettist. ... For other uses of this name, see Henry James (disambiguation). ... The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is the largest publicly-funded radio and television broadcasting corporation of the United Kingdom (see British television) and the world. ... Commissioned can refer to: A commissioned officer (armed forces) Ship commissioning COMMISSIONED (comic) Commissioned The popular Gospel Group originated in Detroit This is a disambiguation page: a list of articles associated with the same title. ... The Turn of the Screw is a little-known 20th century English opera composed by Benjamin Britten, based on the novel The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. ... The Turn of the Screw is a novella written by Henry James. ... Big barn house converted into a concert hall in North Suffolk. ...

Cast

Character Owen Wingrave Spencer Coyle Lechmere Miss Wingrave Mrs Coyle Mrs Julian Kate General Sir Philip Wingrave Narrator Chorus Orchestra

Voice part baritone bass-baritone tenor dramatic soprano soprano soprano mezzo-soprano tenor tenor

Original cast Benjamin Luxon John Shirley-Quirk Nigel Douglas Sylvia Fisher Heather Harper Jennifer Vyvyan Janet Baker Peter Pears Peter Pears Wandsworth School Boys Choir English Chamber Orchestra

In music, a baritone (from Greek βαρυτονος deeply, heavily sounding) is a male voice of intermediate pitch, between bass and tenor. ... A bass-baritone is a singing voice that shares certain qualities of both the baritone and the bass. ... In music, a tenor is a male singer with a high voice (although not as high as the modern countertenor). ... Look up Soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that... Benjamin Luxon (born March 24, 1937 in Redruth, Cornwall, UK) is a retired Cornish baritone. ... John Shirley-Quirk - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Heather Harper (born May 8, 1930) is an Irish operatic soprano. ... Janet Baker as Mary Stuart The British mezzo-soprano Janet Baker (born August 21, 1933) is a well-known opera, concert, and lieder singer. ... Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears (June 22, 1910 – April 3, 1986) was an English tenor and life-long partner of the composer Benjamin Britten. ... The English Chamber Orchestra is a small (hence chamber) orchestra based in London. ...

References

Arnold Whittall. "Owen Wingrave", Grove Music Online, ed. L. Macy (accessed May 7, 2006), grovemusic.com (subscription access). Britten-Pears Foundation The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... May 7 is the 127th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (128th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...