Britten Thematic Catalogue

Beta Version

BTC1149 OWEN WINGRAVE

Opera in two acts, op. 85
Period of composition: Apr 1969 - Aug 1970
First performance: 16 May 1971 >>
Type of performance: Televised broadcast
Location: Benjamin Luxon ''Owen Wingrave'', John Shirley-Quirk ''Spencer Coyle'', Nigel Douglas ''Lechmere'', Sylvia Fisher ''Miss Wingrave'', Heather Harper ''Mrs Coyle'', Jennifer Vyvyan ''Mrs Julian'', Janet
Genre: Stage work
Text: Myfanwy Piper (1911-1997), after the story by Henry James (1843-1916)
Performing forces:

Cast and orchestra

Cast: Owen Wingrave bar, Spencer Coyle bass-bar, Lechmere ten, Miss Wingrave dramatic sop, Mrs Coyle sop, Mrs Julian sop, Kate mez, General Sir Philip Wingrave ten, Narrator ten, Distant chorus trebles, Colonel Wingrave, Young Wingrave (apparitions) silent roles

Orchestra: 2 fl (=picc), 2 ob, 2 cl in A & B flat (II=cl in E flat and bass cl), 2 bn (II=dbn) - 2 hn, 2 tpt in C, 2 ten trbn, tuba - timp (4) (=tom-tom, susp cymb, vibr), 3 perc (sd, td, bd, 2 wb, 2 whip, 2 large susp cymb, small susp cymb, pair of cymb, small gong, tom-tom or vibr, xyl, bivr, block, large gong (t-t), bell in A, tamb) - harp, pf - str

Off-stage: sd, bd, susp cymb

Duration: 106'

Act I: 64 mins;

Act II: 42 mins

Commissioned:

For television by the BBC

Dedication: 'To Joan and Isador Caplan'

Isador Caplan (1912-1995), Britten's and Pears's solicitor and legal adviser from the mid-1940s, and his wife Joan (née Bray).

Movements

  • Act I
  • Act II >>
    notes:

    Prologue

    Scene 1 (Paramore)

    Scene 2 (the same: later that night)

    • Prologue
    • Scene 1 >>
      notes:

      (Paramore)

    • Scene 2 >>
      notes:

      (the same: later that night)

All content copyright (C) Britten-Pears Foundation 2012 unless stated. Please note all BTC numbers are provisional at this stage.