Benjamin Britten Benjamin Britten was a famous composer from Suffolk. A composer is someone who writes music.
He was born in Lowestoft in 1913. He started writing music when he was 5. He died more than 30 years ago, but his music is still performed somewhere in the world almost every day.
Benjamin Britten is best known for writing operas. An opera is a musical play. Most of the words are sung, not spoken. Britten wrote two operas especially for children: The Little Sweep and (below) Noye’s Fludde.
The Red House (Photo: Len Hodds)
For many years Benjamin Britten lived at The Red House in Aldeburgh. He also set up the concert hall at Snape Maltings.
Snape Maltings (Photo: Jeremy Young)
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The story of Noye’s Fludde The opera tells the Bible story of Noah and the flood. God decides to destroy all the bad people on earth by sending a great flood. Noah is a good man, so God tells him to build an ark to save his family.
Photo: Kurt Hutton.
Noah does as God tells him. He builds an ark and takes aboard his family and one pair of every kind of animal and bird. But Mrs Noah does not believe him. She has to be dragged onto the ark by her sons.
Costume design: Ceri Richards.
Photo: Kurt Hutton.
A terrible storm brings a flood that covers the whole earth.
After 40 days Noah sends a raven to find dry land. The raven does not come back so Noah sends a dove. The dove comes back with an olive branch. Noah realises that the flood is nearly over.
Jubilee Opera production, 2008.
God tells Noah that he will never cause such a flood again and makes a rainbow as a sign of this promise.
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Performance programme from 1990.
Performing Noye’s Fludde This is the programme from the first performance of Noye’s Fludde in June 1958. It shows just how many people it takes to put on an opera. Benjamin Britten used words from a play around 600 years old. This is why some of the spellings look odd.
Benjamin Britten helped set up the Aldeburgh Festival. It still happens every June.
Ceri Richards designed the costumes for Noye and his family, and masks for all the birds and animals.
Photo: Kurt Hutton.
Colin Graham directed the action on stage and also designed the set.
God, Noye and Mrs Noye were all played by professional singers.
Benjamin Britten often conducted his own music, but asked Charles Mackerras to conduct Noye's Fludde.
Michael Crawford, one of the children who played Noye's sons, grew up to become a famous actor on TV and in musicals.
These were professional musicians who often performed Benjamin Britten's operas. The repetiteur helps the singers learn their parts.
Most of the children who played animals and birds came from schools around Suffolk.
Photo: Kurt Hutton.
Most of the orchestra came from Suffolk schools. The percussion section included mugs to make the sound of raindrops. Behind the scenes were lots of other people, including Frank Winter who turned Ceri Richards' designs into finished animal masks.
Photo: Kurt Hutton.
www.brittenpears.org