The Red House is a 17th century farmhouse house museum located in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, England, was the home of the composer Benjamin Britten, from 1957 until his death in 1976, and of his life partner & muse, Peter Pears, until the his own death in 1986. After Britten’s passing it became a heritage monument and active house museum(meaning Peter Pears lived on the grounds while the main house was an active museum) It averages over 10,000 visitors!
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And finally, Here’s Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears performing and discussing Franz Schubert’s “Die WInterreise, Op. 89” in 1968 (https://tinyurl.com/3trrac8j) at their famed Red House in Aldeburgh, England
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And here’s the second half of the song cycle “Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Opus No. 22”(https://tinyurl.com/nx7nufhk) from the same 1956 Japanese performance. Shortly before Britten’s passing, Pears declared this piece to be both his favorite of Britten’s compositions and the most meaningful to them both.
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Forgot to mention that Britten wrote “Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Opus No. 22” in the original Italian that Michelangelo used, which was a challenge for both Britten & Pears as they primarily worked in English language music
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Next we have the first half of the 1940 Song Cycle “Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo, Opus No. 22” (https://tinyurl.com/2stwzksn), based on actual poetry written by legendary artist Michelangelo. This performance is from their 1956 trip to Japan
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Benjamin Britten & Peter Pears met in 1937 and quickly became friends, creative collaborators and lovers. Their partnership lasted for 40yrs (Britten passed in 1976) Pears was Britten’s muse and inspired him to center his operatic & choral work around the tenor voice/range.- including five song cycles. Due to the criminalization of Homosexuality at the time, they lived publicly closeted lives but were as close to “married” as possible in private
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Peter Pears (June 22, 2010 - April 3, 1986)🇬🇧 was an English operatic tenor, organist and pianist. He was known for his diction and precise attention to the nuances of story of the pieces he would sing and for his extensive repertoire that spanned from the Tudor period through contemporary work.
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