Quite Different

Next year, the centenary of Benjamin Britten's birth (22 November 1913 in Lowestock, Suffolk) is likely to be overshadowed by the celebrations for the bicentenaries of Richard Wagner and Giuseppe Verdi. Thus, some Italian Theatres are playing it in advance: La Scala produced a new Peter Grimes [Engrossing and Moving, M&V, 28 May 2012], the Teatro dell'Opera unveiled a new staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream on 19 June 2012 (just on the eve of the Summer solstice) and the Spoleto Festival will inaugurate its 55th edition on 29 June 2012 with a brand new The Turn of the Screw which I will review here. Three new productions in just a few weeks is quite an achievement because, with the exception of the very popular War Requiem, Britten is still rarely performed in Italy.

The Rome staging of A Midsummer Night's Dream has a long history...