Benjamin Britten: Source Stories of Twelve Operas


Read by David Wales

Britten's operas are firmly established in the international repertoire: according to Operabase, they are performed worldwide more than those of any other composer born in the 20th century, and only Puccini and Richard Strauss come ahead of him if the list is extended to all operas composed after 1900. Britten went to various sources for his stories from the Bible to Japanese noh plays. This is a collection of twelve of the source stories. All but one are the original texts; the one exception is A Midsummer Night’s Dream which the reader took from Charles Lamb’s telling of the story. Some operas are omitted because no public domain texts could be found for their sources. Summary by Wikipedia and David Wales (13 hr 14 min)

Chapters

Part 1 The Little Sweep. William Blake, The Chimney Sweeper in Songs Of Innoce… 2:49 Read by David Wales
Part 2 Noye's Fludde. Bible, Book of Genesis, Chapters 6-10 17:20 Read by David Wales
Part 3 The Burning Fiery Furnace. Bible, Book of Daniel, Chapters 1-3 18:41 Read by David Wales
Part 4 The Prodigal Son. Bible, Book of Luke, 15.11-32 3:24 Read by David Wales
Part 5 The Golden Vanity. Traditional English Ballad 6:10 Read by David Wales
Part 6 A Midsummer Night's Dream. Shakespeare, A Midsummer Night's Dream as to… 26:45 Read by David Wales
Part 7 Peter Grimes. George Crabbe, The Borough, Letter 22 Peter Grimes 25:18 Read by David Wales
Part 8 Albert Herring. Guy de Maupassant short story, Madame Husson's Rosier 39:44 Read by David Wales
Part 9 Owen Wingrave. Henry James, Owen Wingrave, Section 1 13:10 Read by David Wales
Part 10 Owen Wingrave. Henry James, Owen Wingrave, Section 2 23:16 Read by David Wales
Part 11 Owen Wingrave. Henry James, Owen Wingrave, Section 3 28:37 Read by David Wales
Part 12 Owen Wingrave. Henry James, Owen Wingrave, Section 4 20:04 Read by David Wales
Part 13 The Rape of Lucretia. Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece, Section 1 36:52 Read by David Wales
Part 14 The Rape of Lucretia. Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece, Section 2 36:09 Read by David Wales
Part 15 The Rape of Lucretia. Shakespeare, The Rape of Lucrece, Section 3 42:12 Read by David Wales
Part 16 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Beginning a… 38:45 Read by David Wales
Part 17 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 3-4 27:36 Read by David Wales
Part 18 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 5… 25:39 Read by David Wales
Part 19 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 7-8 22:59 Read by David Wales
Part 20 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 9-… 24:24 Read by David Wales
Part 21 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 11… 17:28 Read by David Wales
Part 22 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 13… 21:51 Read by David Wales
Part 23 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 15… 14:06 Read by David Wales
Part 24 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 17… 18:21 Read by David Wales
Part 25 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 19… 20:47 Read by David Wales
Part 26 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 21… 23:09 Read by David Wales
Part 27 The Turn of the Screw. Henry James, The Turn Of The Screw, Chapters 23… 22:06 Read by David Wales
Part 28 Death In Venice. Thomas Mann, Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig), Cha… 13:57 Read by David Wales
Part 29 Death In Venice. Thomas Mann, Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig), Cha… 17:24 Read by David Wales
Part 30 Death In Venice. Thomas Mann, Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig), Cha… 1:03:15 Read by David Wales
Part 31 Death In Venice. Thomas Mann, Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig), Cha… 27:42 Read by David Wales
Part 32 Death In Venice. Thomas Mann, Death in Venice (Der Tod in Venedig), Cha… 54:19 Read by David Wales