An opera in three acts by Benjamin Britten
From the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
See below
Act 1: A wood outside Athens

Third Programme at 7.30

Libretto after William Shakespeare by Peter Pears and Benjamin Britten

A special performance for Youth and Music and the Friends of Covent Garden from the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden

Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream is no newcomer to Covent Garden, but the current revival of the opera there does present one entirely new feature, the impersonation of Oberon by the talented mezzo-soprano Josephine Veasey.

The role of the King of the Fairies was originally conceived for male counter-tenor, a brilliant use by the composer of a singular timbre to delineate an altogether singular character in terms of relatively unfamiliar vocal sound. But Britten also allowed for an alternative casting, and there is perhaps something to be said for exploring this alternative in an opera house of the formidable size of Covent Garden.

As for the rest, I have no doubt that this extraordinarily beautiful and subtle opera will continue to exert its magic influence. Magic has long been associated with music, and, for me, one of the most remarkable aspects of the opera has been the capacity of the music to project the 'reality' - if that's the right word - of the fairy world, to make us realise just how powerful is the magic by which Shakespeare's mortals are bewilderingly ensnared. I predict that mortal listeners, no less, will succumb to the spells of Britten-Oberoni

(Donald Mitchell)