Following the enormous success of George Benjamin's first opera Into the Little Hill (2006), there has been huge anticipation in the musical world at the prospect of his first full-length work in this genre. After a period of intense work and isolation for Benjamin, his much-awaited new opera, Written on Skin, was premiered at the Aix-en-Provence Festival on July 7, 2012. A long standing ovation was the first of many marks of recognition and praise for this extraordinary work which has been hailed by critics as " one of] the best operas of the 21st century so far," and "the birth of a...
Following the enormous success of George Benjamin's first opera Into the Little Hill (2006), there has been huge anticipation in the musical world at ...
Premiered in 2018, the 90-minute opera Lessons in Love and Violence delves into the dark and turbulent events of Edward II's life and death. George Benjamin and Martin Crimp's third collaboration, it unfolds as a taut slow-burning arch of seven tableaux. This work boasts particularly rich string textures, and is coloured by basset horn and cimbalom together with a pair of harps, celesta, and percussion (including talking drums and tombak). Several of the opera's powerful interludes are dominated by braying, sardonic brass - with tuba substituted by the more menacing contrabass...
Premiered in 2018, the 90-minute opera Lessons in Love and Violence delves into the dark and turbulent events of Edward II's life and death. George Be...
A beguiling 20-minute work for countertenor, women's voices and orchestra, Dream of the Song, George Benjamin's first work since his ground-breaking opera Written on Skin, was premiered in 2015 by the countertenor Bejun Mehta, the Netherlands Chamber Choir and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by the composer. Employing a reduced orchestra (two oboes, four horns, two percussionists and two harps and strings), the work sets verse by three major poets who spent formative years in Granada; two Hebrew poets of mid-11th century, Samuel HaNagid and Solomon Ibn Gabirol (sung by solo...
A beguiling 20-minute work for countertenor, women's voices and orchestra, Dream of the Song, George Benjamin's first work since his ground-breaking o...
George Benjamin's Sometime Voices for baritone, chorus and orchestra is a setting of Caliban's famous speech in Act III Scene 2 of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Composed in 1996, the 9-minute work places long, forceful baritone lines above an orchestra that drifts between an eerie tranquillity and mercurial activity. Behind this, the chorus, acting as spirits - sometimes benign, sometimes menacing - invoke his name. This vocal score for solo and chorus includes a piano reduction.
George Benjamin's Sometime Voices for baritone, chorus and orchestra is a setting of Caliban's famous speech in Act III Scene 2 of Shakespeare's The T...
Dedicated to the memory of Oliver Knussen, George Benjamin's 2021 Concerto for Orchestra premiered at the BBC proms by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. Benjamin said that the piece attempts "to conjure a trace of the energy, humour, and spirit" of Knussen. It is varied and dynamic across its unbroken 18-minute span - skittish lines play against still, suspended ones - and full of star turns for its various instrumental protagonists. Available here as a full score. Parts available to hire from September 2022. "A terrific 18-minute tour de force, clearly inspired by the virtuosity...
Dedicated to the memory of Oliver Knussen, George Benjamin's 2021 Concerto for Orchestra premiered at the BBC proms by the Mahler Chamber Orchestra. B...
Picture a day like this is the fourth collaboration between George Benjamin and Martin Crimp, whose acclaimed partnership produced Written on Skin, Lessons in Love and Violence, and Into the Little Hill. The 60-minute opera is cast in seven scenes and scored for five voices (S-S-MS-Ct-Bar) and twenty-two instrumentalists. It premiered at the Aix-en-Provence Festival in 2023, with the composer conducting. Picture a day like this tells the story of a Woman (mezzo-soprano) who has lost her child; if she can meet one truly happy person before nightfall, they will return to life. In her...
Picture a day like this is the fourth collaboration between George Benjamin and Martin Crimp, whose acclaimed partnership produced Written on Skin, Le...
Picture a day like this is the fourth collaboration between George Benjamin and Martin Crimp, whose acclaimed partnership produced Written on Skin, Lessons in Love and Violence, and Into the Little Hill. Playwright Martin Crimp's text for the opera is a bittersweet fable on grief and renewal. It tells the story of a Woman (mezzosoprano) who has lost her child; if she can meet one truly happy person before nightfall, they will return to life. In her search, across seven scenes, she meets a pair of lovers, a Composer and their assistant, an Artisan, Collector, and the mysterious Zabelle....
Picture a day like this is the fourth collaboration between George Benjamin and Martin Crimp, whose acclaimed partnership produced Written on Skin, Le...