War Requiem

A rare appearance away from Covent Garden as the ROH move to the Royal Albert Hall.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Benjamin
• Britten
• Royal
• Opera
• House
• World
• War
• II
• Wilfred
• Owen

[123must]

Very interesting !

Thanks

[mckavitt]

Sorry, i meant my remark below to go to jabney8mmm

[mckavitt]

@ILiveOnMyBoat. Britten returned to England because he had love of (his) country, as opposed to American-like patriotism. He didn't take to the "American way of life", was homesick and decided to have his ongoing first opera PETER GRIMES performed in England. He refused to enlist in the armed services and received virulent criticism for it, it being hinted that his pacificism was sheer treachery to his country in a time of need. All of this is explained in both dvds available now.

[jabney8mmm]

@ILiveOnMyBoat

Britten was gay and therefore not eligible to serve in the British armed forces. Consider the 'treatment' that Turing received from the UK government not that many years later (see 'Apple logo'). And that was after Turing made one of the most important contributions to the Allied victory in Europe in WWII. Would you have given up your home on a boat to go back to such a hostile environment? Britten did.

[ILiveOnMyBoat]

Britten was surely a spineless pacifist.?

As his country was attacked he had ensured he was in America for the first 3 years of war.

Upon his self sanguine return he argued against his conscription as a self confessed conscientious pacifist.

It could be argued that it is a disgrace that any man would not stand up and be counted in conflict to fight against a truly vile enemy to protect his country and loved ones.

His work may be flawed with his obvious disgusting self preservation.

[mckavitt]

Thanks for this document, a powerfully beautiful one, Especially good are the bits of live performance featuring Britten and Pears.

[RaistlinsRose]

very nice...

[ArtRock2006]

Thanks for uploading this. Britten's War Requiem is one of my favourite classical music compositions, and this documentary contained fascinating information.