View source for A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)

{{Short description|Opera by Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2024}}
{{Infobox opera 
| name              = A Midsummer Night's Dream
| image             = A Midsummer Night's Dream at BMF (2016).jpg
| image_upright     = 1.4
| caption           = Britten's ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' at the 19th [[Beijing Music Festival]] (2016)
| composer          = [[Benjamin Britten]]
| description       = 
| librettist        = {{plainlist|
* [[Benjamin Britten]]
* [[Peter Pears]]
}}
| language          = English
| based_on          = Shakespeare's ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''
| premiere_date     = {{Start date|1960|06|11|df=y}}
| premiere_location = [[Aldeburgh Festival]]
}}
'''''A Midsummer Night's Dream''''', [[Opus number|Op.]] 64, is an opera with music by [[Benjamin Britten]] and set to a [[libretto]] adapted by the composer and [[Peter Pears]] from [[William Shakespeare]]'s play, ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''. It was premiered on 11 June 1960 at the [[Aldeburgh Festival]], conducted by the composer and with set and costume designs by [[Carl Toms]].{{sfn|Whittall|1998}} Stylistically, the work is typical of Britten, with a highly individual sound-world – not strikingly dissonant or atonal,{{sfn|Whittall|1998}} but replete with subtly atmospheric harmonies and [[word painting|tone painting]]. The role of Oberon was composed for the countertenor [[Alfred Deller]]. Atypically for Britten, the opera did not include a leading role for his partner Pears, who instead was given the comic drag role of Flute/Thisbe.

==Performance history==
''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' was first performed on 11 June 1960 at the Jubilee Hall, [[Aldeburgh]], UK as part of the [[Aldeburgh Festival]]. Conducted by the composer, it was directed by the choreographer [[John Cranko]].{{sfn|Boosey & Hawkes|n.d.}}

The work received wide critical approval following its early performances.{{sfn|McDonald|2012|p=140}}{{better source needed|date=June 2021|reason=McDonald doesn't say this directly, and where he implies it he is not talking about the earliest performances}} [[Howard Taubman]] in his review of the Aldeburgh premiere wrote that the orchestral colors of the score conveyed a sense of "soaring illusion" that never wavered and concluded: 
<blockquote>Not every problem posed by Shakespeare has been solved, but Mr. Britten has accomplished so much that one may safely predict a wide vogue for his latest and happiest opera.{{sfn|Taubman|1960}}</blockquote>

A dissenting voice was Britten's estranged collaborator [[W. H. Auden]]. In a letter to [[Stephen Spender]] after seeing the 1961 London production, Auden dismissed it as "Dreadful! Pure [[Kensington Gardens|Kensington]]".{{sfn|McDonald|2012|p=140}}{{sfn|White|1994}}

''Dream'' was performed at the [[Royal Opera House]], Covent Garden, in 1961, produced by [[John Gielgud]] and conducted by [[Georg Solti]]. This production was revived six times to 1984.{{sfn|ROHC: ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1961)}}

The [[English Opera Group|English Music Theatre Company]] staged the opera at [[Snape Maltings]] in 1980, directed by [[Christopher Renshaw]] and designed by Robin Don; the production was revived at the Royal Opera House for one performance in 1986.{{sfn|ROHC: ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1986)}}

In 2005, the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, produced a version directed by [[Olivia Fuchs]] at the Linbury Studio Theatre with the Tiffin Boys' Choir. [[William Towers (countertenor)|William Towers]] was Oberon, and [[Gillian Keith]] Tytania.{{sfn|ROHC: ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2005)}}

[[English National Opera]]'s production of 2011, directed by [[Christopher Alden (director)|Christopher Alden]], set the opera in a mid-20th-century school, with Oberon ([[Iestyn Davies]]) and Tytania ([[Anna Christy]]) as teachers and Puck and the fairies as schoolboys. Oberon's relationship with Puck (Jamie Manton) is given overtly sexual overtones, and Puck responds with alternate anger and despair to Oberon's new-found interest in Tytania's Changeling boy. The silent older man who stalks the action in the first two acts is revealed to be Theseus ([[Paul Whelan (opera singer)|Paul Whelan]]); reviewers have suggested that in this staging Theseus himself was once the object of Oberon's attentions, and is either watching history repeating itself, or is in fact daydreaming the magical events of the opera prior to his marriage to Hippolyta.{{sfn|Clements|2011}}{{sfn|White|2011}}

[[Baz Luhrmann]] directed a [[music video]] of an [[arrangement]] of "[[Now Until the Break of Day]]" from the finale of act 3 for his 1998 album ''[[Something for Everybody (Baz Luhrmann album)|Something for Everybody]]'' featuring [[Christine Anu]] and [[David Hobson (tenor)|David Hobson]].

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
|+{{sronly|Roles, voice types; premiere cast}}
|-
!Role
![[Voice type]]
!Premiere cast, 11 June 1960<br>Conductor: [[Benjamin Britten]]<br>Director: [[John Cranko]]
|-
|[[Oberon]], ''King of the Fairies''
|[[countertenor]]
|[[Alfred Deller]]
|-
|[[Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Tytania]], ''Queen of the Fairies''
|[[coloratura soprano]]
|[[Jennifer Vyvyan]]
|-
|[[Puck (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Puck]]
|speaking role
|Lorca Massine (as "Leonide Massine II"){{sfn|McDonald|2012|p=139}}{{sfn|Craine|Mackrell|2010}}
|-
|Cobweb
|[[Treble voice|treble]]
|Kevin Platts
|-
|Mustardseed
|treble
|Robert McCutcheon
|-
|Moth
|treble
|Barry Ferguson
|-
|Peaseblossom
|treble
|Michael Bauer
|-
|[[Lysander (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Lysander]]
|[[tenor]]
|[[George Maran]]
|-
|[[Demetrius (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Demetrius]]
|[[baritone]]
|[[Thomas Hemsley]]
|-
|[[Hermia]], ''in love with Lysander''
|[[mezzo-soprano]]
|[[Marjorie Thomas]]
|-
|[[Helena (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Helena]], ''in love with Demetrius''
|[[soprano]]
|[[April Cantelo]]
|-
|[[Theseus]], ''Duke of Athens''
|[[Bass (voice type)|bass]]
|[[Forbes Robinson]]
|-
|[[Hippolyta]], ''Queen of the Amazons''
|[[contralto]]
|[[Johanna Peters]]
|-
|[[Nick Bottom|Bottom]], ''a weaver'' (Pyramus)
|[[bass-baritone]]
|[[Owen Brannigan]]
|-
|[[Peter Quince|Quince]], ''a carpenter'' (Director)
|bass
|[[Norman Lumsden]]
|-
|[[Francis Flute|Flute]], ''a bellows-mender'' (Thisbe)
|tenor
|[[Peter Pears]]
|-
|[[Snug (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Snug]], ''a joiner'' (Lion)
|bass
|David Kelly
|-
|[[Tom Snout|Snout]], ''a tinker'' (Wall)
|tenor
|Edward Byles
|-
|[[Robin Starveling|Starveling]], ''a tailor'' (Moonshine)
|baritone
|[[Joseph Ward (tenor)|Joseph Ward]]
|}
<!--
TODO:
==Synopsis==
-->

==Instrumentation==
* [[Woodwind instrument|woodwinds]]: 2 [[Western concert flute|flute]]s (2nd with [[piccolo]]), [[oboe]] (with [[English horn]]), 2 [[clarinet]]s, [[bassoon]]
* [[Brass instrument|Brass]]: 2 [[French horn|horns]], [[trumpet]] in D, [[trombone]]
* [[percussion]] (2 players): [[timpani]], [[triangle (musical instrument)|triangle]], [[cymbal]]s, [[tambourine]], [[gong]], 2 [[Woodblock (instrument)|wood block]]s, [[vibraphone]], [[glockenspiel]], [[xylophone]], tamburo, [[snare drum]], [[tenor drum]], [[bass drum]], 2 [[bell]]s
* Other: 2 [[harp]]s, [[harpsichord]] ([[celesta]]), [[string orchestra|strings]] (minimum: [[Shorthand for orchestra instrumentation|4.2.2.2.2]])
* [[Stage band]]: [[Recorder (musical instrument)|sopranino recorders]], [[cymbal]]s, 2 [[Woodblock (instrument)|wood block]]s

==Analysis==
Britten delineated the three tiers of characters, the rustics being given folk-like "simple" music, the lovers a more romantic sound-world and the fairies being represented in a very ethereal way. Almost all of the action now takes place in the woods around [[Athens]], and the fairies inhabit a much more prominent place in the drama. The comic performance by the rustics of ''[[Pyramus and Thisbe]]'' at the final wedding takes on an added dimension as a parody of nineteenth-century Italian opera. Thisbe's lament, accompanied by [[obbligato]] [[flute]], is a parody of a [[Donizetti]] "[[mad scene]]" ("[[Il dolce suono]]").{{sfn|Whittall|1998}}

The opera contains several innovations: it is extremely rare in opera that the lead male role is written for the [[countertenor]] voice to sing. The part of Oberon was created by [[Alfred Deller]]. Britten wrote specifically for his voice, which, despite its ethereal quality, had a low range compared to more modern countertenors. Oberon's music almost never requires the countertenor to sing both at the top of the alto range and ''forte''.

The plot of the opera follows that of the [[A Midsummer Night's Dream|play]], with several alterations. Most of Shakespeare's act 1 is cut, compensated for by the opera's only added line: "Compelling thee to marry with Demetrius." Therefore, much greater precedence is given to the wood, and to the fairies.{{sfn|Whittall|1998}} This is also indicated by the opening [[Portamento|''portamenti'']] strings, and by the ethereal countertenor voice that is [[Oberon]], the male lead, who throughout is accompanied by a characteristic texture of harp and celeste, in the same way that [[Puck (mythology)|Puck]]'s appearance is heralded by the combination of trumpet and snare-drum.{{sfn|Whittall|1998}}

The opera opens with a chorus, "Over hill, over dale" from [[Titania (A Midsummer Night's Dream)|Tytania]]'s attendant fairies, played by boy sopranos. Other highlights include Oberon's florid – the exotic celeste is especially notable{{sfn|Whittall|1998}} – aria,"I know a bank" (inspired by [[Henry Purcell|Purcell]]'s "Sweeter than roses", which Britten had previously arranged for Pears to sing),{{sfn|Brett|1990}} Tytania's equally florid "Come now, a roundel", the chorus's energetic "You spotted snakes", the hilarious comedy of ''Pyramus and Thisbe'', and the final trio for Oberon, Tytania and the chorus.

{{citation needed span|date=March 2021|text=The original play is an anomaly among Shakespeare's works, in that it is very little concerned with character, and very largely concerned with psychology. Britten follows this to a large extent, but subtly alters the psychological focus of the work.}} The introduction of a chorus of boy-fairies means that the opera becomes greatly concerned with the theme of purity. It is these juvenile fairies who eventually quell the libidinous activities of the quartet of lovers, as they sing a beautiful melody on the three "motto chords" (also on the four "magic" chords) of the second act:{{sfn|Whittall|1998}} "Jack shall have Jill/Naught shall go ill/The man shall have his mare again/And all shall be well." Sung by boys, it could be considered that this goes beyond irony, and represents an idealised vision of a paradise of innocence and purity that Britten seems to have been captivated by throughout his life.{{sfn|Brett|1990}}

Britten also pays attention to the play's central motif: the madness of love. Curiously he took the one relationship in the play that is grotesque (that of Tytania and Bottom) and placed it in the centre of his opera (in the middle of act 2).{{sfn|Brett|1990}} Women in Britten operas tend to run to extremes, being either predators or vulnerable prey, but Tytania is an amalgam; she dominates Bottom, but is herself completely dominated by Oberon and Puck, the couple that are usually considered to really hold power in The Dream.{{sfn|Brett|1990}} Their cruel pranks eventually quell her [[coloratura]], which until she is freed from the power of the love-juice is fiendishly difficult to sing.

Britten also parodied operatic convention in less obvious ways than ''Pyramus and Thisbe''. Like many other operas, ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' opens with a chorus, but it is a chorus of unbroken boys' voices, singing in unison. After this comes the entrance of the prima donna and the male lead, who is as far away as possible from [[Richard Wagner|Wagner]]'s [[heldentenors]], and as close as it is possible to get to [[George Frideric Handel|Handel's]] [[castrati]] of the 18th century.:{{sfn|Whittall|1998}} "There is an air of baroque fantasy in the music." Britten's treatment of Puck also suggests parody.{{sfn|Brett|1990}} In opera, the hero's assistant is traditionally sung by baritones, yet here we have an adolescent youth who speaks, rather than sings.

Britten thought the character of Puck "absolutely amoral and yet innocent."{{sfn|Britten|1960}} Describing the speaking, tumbling Puck of the opera, Britten wrote "I got the idea of doing Puck like this in Stockholm, where I saw some Swedish child acrobats with extraordinary agility and powers of mimicry, and suddenly realised we could do Puck this way."{{sfn|Britten|1960}}

==Recordings==
There are many recordings available, including two conducted by the composer, one a live recording of the 11 June 1960 premiere with the complete original cast, the second a studio recording made in 1967 with some of the original cast, Deller as Oberon, Owen Brannigan as Bottom, and Peter Pears elevated from Flute to Lysander, which omits some music from the lovers' awakening early in act 3.{{sfn|Capon|2008}}

There are three complete studio recordings of the opera:

* 1966 – [[Alfred Deller]] (Oberon), [[Elizabeth Harwood]] (Tytiana), Stephen Terry (Puck), [[John Shirley-Quirk]] (Theseus), [[Helen Watts]] (Hippolyta), [[Peter Pears]] (Lysander), [[Thomas Hemsley]] (Demetrius), [[Josephine Veasey]] (Hermia), [[Heather Harper]] (Helena), [[Owen Brannigan]] (Bottom), [[Norman Lumsden]] (Quince), [[Kenneth MacDonald (English actor)|Kenneth MacDonald]] (Flute), David Kelly (Snug), Keith Raggett (Starveling), [[Robert Tear]] (Snout), Richard Dakin (Cobweb), Ian Wodehouse (Mustard seed), John Pryer (Peaseblossom), Graham Clark (Moth) – Choirs of [[Downside School|Downside]] and [[Emanuel School|Emanuel]] Schools, [[London Symphony Orchestra]], conducted by [[Benjamin Britten]] – [[Decca Records]] 3 LPs (1967), 2 CDs (1990)
* 1990 – [[James Bowman (countertenor)|James Bowman]] (Oberon), [[Lillian Watson (soprano)|Lillian Watson]] (Tytania), [[Dexter Fletcher]] (Puck), [[Norman Bailey (bass-baritone)|Norman Bailey]] (Theseus), Penelope Walker (Hippolyta), John Graham-Hall (Lysander), [[Henry Herford]] (Demetrius), [[Della Jones]] (Hermia), [[Jill Gomez]] (Helena), [[Donald Maxwell (baritone)|Donald Maxwell]] (Bottom), Roger Bryson (Quince), Adrian Thompson (Flute) – [[Trinity Boys Choir|Trinity Boys' Choir]], [[City of London Sinfonia]], conducted by [[Richard Hickox]] – [[Virgin Classics]] 2 CDs (1993)
* 1995 – [[Brian Asawa]] (Oberon), [[Sylvia McNair]] (Tytania), Carl Ferguson (Puck), Brian Bannatyne-Scott (Theseus), [[Hilary Summers]] (Hippolyta), [[John Mark Ainsley]] (Lysander), Paul Whelan (Demetrius), Ruby Philogene (Hermia), Janice Watson (Helena), [[Robert Lloyd (bass)|Robert Lloyd]] (Bottom), [[Gwynne Howell]] (Quince), [[Ian Bostridge]] (Flute), Stephen Richardson (Snug), Neal Davies (Starveling), Mark Tucker (Snout), David Newman (Cobweb), Sara Rey (Mustardseed), Claudia Conway (Peaseblossom), Matthew Long (Moth) – [[New London Children's Choir]], [[London Symphony Orchestra]], conducted by Sir [[Colin Davis]] – [[Philips Classics Records|Philips Classics]] 2 CDs (1996)

==Notes and references==
===Notes===
{{reflist}}

===References===
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
*{{cite web
  |title = Britten, Benjamin—''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1960)
  |publisher = [[Boosey & Hawkes]]
  |url = http://www.boosey.com/pages/opera/moreDetails.asp?musicID=5633
  |access-date = 22 May 2011
  |url-status = live
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121006094318/http://www.boosey.com/pages/opera/moreDetails.asp?musicID=5633
  |archive-date = 6 October 2012
  |ref = {{harvid|Boosey & Hawkes|n.d.}}
}}
*{{cite book
  |title = Britten's ''Dream''
  |last = Brett
  |first = Philip
  |author-link = Philip Brett
  |year = 1990
  |publisher = [[Decca Records]]
  |type = Brief essay to accompany the Britten recording
}}
*{{cite book
  |chapter = A New Britten Opera (1960)
  |last = Britten
  |first = Benjamin
  |authorlink = Benjamin Britten
  |pages = 186–189
  |title = Britten on Music
  |editor1-last = Kildea
  |editor1-first = Paul Francis
  |editor1-link = Paul Kildea
  |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
  |location = Oxford
  |year = 2003
  |orig-year = first published 1960
  |isbn = 9780198167143
  |ref = {{harvid|Britten|1960}}
}}
*{{cite web
  |title = Recordings of ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''
  |editor-last = Capon
  |editor-first = Brian
  |website = Opera Discography
  |date = September 2008
  |url = http://www.operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/CLBRMIDS.HTM
  |url-status = live
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101127220450/http://operadis-opera-discography.org.uk/CLBRMIDS.HTM
  |archive-date=27 November 2010
  |access-date=2 May 2011
}}
*{{cite news
  |title = ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' – review
  |last = Clements
  |first = Andrew
  |date = 20 May 2011
  |newspaper = [[The Guardian]]
  |url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/may/20/midsummer-nights-dream-review
  |url-status = live
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160310024052/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2011/may/20/midsummer-nights-dream-review
  |archive-date = 10 March 2016
}}
*{{cite encyclopedia
  |title = Massine, Lorca
  |encyclopedia = The Oxford Dictionary of Dance
  |editor1-last = Craine
  |editor1-first = Debra
  |editor2-last = Mackrell
  |editor2-first = Judith
  |publisher = [[Oxford University Press]]
  |location = Oxford
  |year = 2010
  |isbn = 9780191727658
  |edition = 2nd
  |doi = 10.1093/acref/9780199563449.001.0001
}}
*{{cite book
  |chapter = Benjamin Britten’s Dreams
  |last1 = McDonald
  |first1 = Russ
  |pages = 138–146
  |title = [[Shakespeare Survey]]
  |editor1-last = Holland
  |editor1-first = Peter
  |volume = 65, A Midsummer Night's Dream
  |publisher = [[Cambridge University Press]]
  |location = Cambridge
  |via = [[Cambridge Core]]
  |year = 2012
  |isbn = 9781139170000
  |doi = 10.1017/SSO9781139170000
}}
*{{cite web
  |title = ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1961)
  |publisher = Royal Opera House Collections Online
  |url = http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?row=0&production=3763&page=0
  |access-date = 22 May 2011
  |url-status = live
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723031038/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?row=0&production=3763&page=0
  |archive-date = 23 July 2011
  |ref = {{harvid|ROHC: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1961)}}
}}
*{{cite web
  |title = ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (1986)
  |publisher = Royal Opera House Collections Online
  |url = http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?row=1&production=3764&page=0
  |access-date = 22 May 2011
  |url-status = live
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723031114/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?row=1&production=3764&page=0
  |archive-date = 23 July 2011
  |ref = {{harvid|ROHC: A Midsummer Night's Dream (1986)}}
}}
*{{cite web
  |title = ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' (2005)
  |publisher = Royal Opera House Collections Online
  |url = http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=3765&row=2
  |access-date = 22 May 2011
  |url-status = live
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110723031018/http://www.rohcollections.org.uk/production.aspx?production=3765&row=2
  |archive-date = 23 July 2011
  |ref = {{harvid|ROHC: A Midsummer Night's Dream (2005)}}
}}
*{{cite news
  |title = Britten's ''Dream''; His Setting of Shakespeare Drama Is Composer's Newest, Happiest Opera
  |last1 = Taubman
  |first1 = Howard
  |author1-link = Howard Taubman
  |page = 9
  |newspaper = [[The New York Times]]
  |date = 19 June 1960
  |url = https://timesmachine.nytimes.com/timesmachine/1960/06/19/99859475.pdf
}}
*{{cite news
  |last = White
  |first = Michael
  |title = Sweet Dream, sour looks
  |newspaper = [[The Independent on Sunday]]
  |date = 22 May 1994
  |url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical-music--sweet-dream-sour-looks-1437690.html
  |url-status = live
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20121111101413/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/classical-music--sweet-dream-sour-looks-1437690.html
  |archive-date = 11 November 2012
}}
*{{cite web
  |title = ENO's shocking new paedophile ''Midsummer Night's Dream'' is brilliant, and I hated it
  |last = White
  |first = Michael
  |date = 20 May 2011
  |website = [[The Daily Telegraph]] Blogs
  |url = http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/michaelwhite/100053515/enos-shocking-new-paedophile-midsummer-nights-dream-is-brilliant-and-i-hated-it/
  |access-date = 20 July 2013
  |url-status = dead
  |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130730065706/http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/culture/michaelwhite/100053515/enos-shocking-new-paedophile-midsummer-nights-dream-is-brilliant-and-i-hated-it/
  |archive-date = 30 July 2013
}}
*{{cite encyclopedia
  |title = Midsummer Night's Dream, A
  |last = Whittall
  |first = Arnold
  |author-link = Arnold Whittall
  |year = 1998
  |pages = 379–381
  |editor-last = Sadie
  |editor-first = Stanley
  |editor-link = Stanley Sadie
  |encyclopedia = [[The New Grove Dictionary of Opera]]
  |volume = 3
  |location = London
  |publisher = Macmillan
  |isbn = 1-56159-228-5
}}
{{div col end}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20100212104321/http://englishtouringopera.org.uk/about-eto/opera-synopses/britten-a-midsummer-nights-dream/ Synopsis of Britten's ''Midsummer Night's Dream''] from the [[English Touring Opera]]
* [http://www.brittenpears.org/?page=britten/repertoire/opera/midsummer.html ''Midsummer Night's Dream'' from the Britten-Pears Foundation with audio clips]
* [https://www.bl.uk/collection-items/benjamin-brittens-manuscript-score-for-a-midsummer-nights-dream Benjamin Britten's manuscript score for ''A Midsummer Night's Dream''] at the British Library

{{Benjamin Britten|state=collapsed}}
{{A Midsummer Night's Dream}}
{{Portal bar|Opera}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Midsummer Night's Dream, A}}
[[Category:Operas by Benjamin Britten]]
[[Category:English-language operas]]
[[Category:Operas]]
[[Category:1960 operas]]
[[Category:Operas set in Greece]]
[[Category:Operas based on A Midsummer Night's Dream]]