A Midsummer Night's Dream

A detailed guide to Benjamin Britten's seventh major opera, which had its premiere in 1960 Benjamin Britten and his partner Peter Pears adapted Shakespeare's much-loved comedy, using Shakespeare's own text, as well as cutting and simplifying the play.

This newly commissioned guide has an essay which explores the unique process of the opera's composition, including passages of recently published material from Britten's own correspondence. Other essays examine the magical sound world that Britten created for this work, document Britten's own response to productions of the opera during his lifetime, and assess the place of the work in relation to the rest of Britten's oeuvre.