With Susan Sharpe.
FAIREST ISLE
1.00 British Opera Matinee: Gloriana
Britten's opera set in the England of Elizabeth I was composed to celebrate the coronation of Elizabeth II and premiered at Covent Garden in 1953. Tournaments, masques and a royal progress provide the backdrop for an evocation of the ceremony of Tudor England, with the story of Elizabeth's relationship with the Earl of Essex giving a key to the monarch's personal life and providing the opera's emotional core. Introduced by Humphrey Carpenter.
Chorus and Orchestra of Welsh National Opera, conductor Charles
Mackerras
Discs
FAIREST ISLE
3.45 Brief Lives
The second of three programmes featuring music by talented but short-lived English composers of the 18th century. Today, Timothy Roberts
(fortepiano) and members of the Revolutionary
Drawing Room perform music by George Frederick Pinto (1785-1806), including his Piano Sonata in E flat minor.
FAIREST ISLE
4.30 An Outside View
Performers and composers from around the world voice their opinions on British music. Today's guest is flamenco guitarist Paco Pena.
4.35 Albenlz, arr Halffter Spanish Rhapsody
Alicia de Larrocha (piano) LPO, conductor Rafael
Fruhbeck de Burgos Disc