Benjamin Britten

Jeremy Tambling (University of Hong Kong)
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Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), the most prominent opera-writer in Britain in the twentieth century, was born at Lowestoft in East Anglia, and was to die nearby, at Aldeburgh. This small Suffolk town, which provided the material for George Crabbe's poem The Borough in 1810, was to become the home of the Festival housed in the disused Maltings (in the nearby illage of Snape), which Britten began in 1948 with Eric Crozier (1914-1994), the writer and producer, and the tenor Peter Pears (1910-1986), Britten's partner from 1936 onwards. For Pears, beginning with Peter Grimes (1945), Britten wrote much of his operatic music, save those operas written specifically for children. Other influential singers associated with Britten in …

2071 words

Citation: Tambling, Jeremy. "Benjamin Britten". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 June 2002 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5001, accessed 03 May 2024.]

5001 Benjamin Britten 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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