Science Fair Project Encyclopedia
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera)
Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream is an opera based on the play of the same name by Shakespeare. While preserving most features of the original play, it was, out of necessity, condensed to fit the format of an opera by the composer and Peter Pears. It received its premiere on 11 June 1960 at the Aldeburgh Festival.
Britten skillfully delineated the three tiers of characters, the rustics being given folk-like "simple" music, the lovers a more noble 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 spoof of nineteenth century Italian opera.
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