Madwoman Sings | Excerpt from "Curlew River - A Parable for Church Performance" by Benjamin Britten

Excerpt from "Curlew River - A Parable for Church Performance", an English music drama by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by William Plomer.
Watch the full play: • Curlew River - A Parab...
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"Curlew River" (1964) is the first, and commonly regarded as the best, of Britten’s so-called Church Parables. The piece is derived from the ritualism and simplicity of the Nō drama "Sumidagawa" by Juro Motamasa. Written for an ensemble of just flute, horn, viola, double bass, harp, percussion and organ, it fixes medieval church music with oriental elements to create a wonderful sound world of sliding strings and percussive effects. The singers are all male - as they are in Nō theatre - and some of the sounds are obviously suggested by the flute and drum accompaniment to Nō drama but Britten extends the extremely austere sound of the Japanese form into an incredibly inventive and colorful score.
A highly-acclaimed production for the Festival International d’ Art Lyrique in Aix-en Provence was staged by the Japanese actor and director Yoshi Oida. He brings concentrated integrity to the mysterious tale, set in the English Fens, of a Madwoman who comes to the ferryman of the Curlew River, searching for her son. The emotional and atmospheric power of Britten’s opera emerges in Oida’s unadorned and poised interpretation, with sets and costumes by his compatriot Tomio Mohri.
Stage producer: Yoshi Oida
Television director: Mathias Ledoux
Cast:
Michael Bennett - Madwoman
Jussi Jmenpaa - Ferryman
Andrew Rupp - Traveler
Jaehi Yang - the Spirit of the Boy
Ulas Inan Inac - Priest
Kim Ta, Fernando Cobo, Nicolas Bauchau - Pilgrims
European Academy of Music Orchestra
Conductor: David Stern
Production: RD Studio Productions - La Sept ARTE - Mezzo - Radio France
© 1998, Licensed by Digital Classics Distribution