Gloriana by Benjamin Britten

Even some lovers of serious music will admit that Benjamin Britten is “not my cup of tea”.

This was certainly the case when Gloriana was first performed in London in 1953. Audiences were baffled. The young Queen herself, to whom the opera was dedicated, expressed disapproval with Britten’s depiction of a conflicted, ageing monarch trying to balance her private life with public responsibilities. For a very young Queen, it must have appeared rather insulting to have had her namesake depicted in this way. Who knows, perhaps the portrayal of a royal in conflict may have seemed prescient.

There have been revivals since the 1950s, notably Opera North’s in 1999 and The Royal Opera House was due to be stage it again April – May 2020, but we all know what happened to all artistic endeavours that fell into that time slot.

There was an interesting production by Richard Jones, originally performed in Hamburg in March 2013 that used a village hall am dram production, set in the 1950s as a backdrop. This made for some entertaining byplay as the ‘amateur’ stage crew fumbled through the scene changes.

It is fair to say that Gloriana has been well served by its revival productions, although film of the 1953 performance reveals an original that was less professional.


The Queen Elizabeth role calls for powerful singing as the Queen, intent on being the instrument of her people, also has to display subtlety as the woman partly seduced by the Earl of Essex. However, female performers also have to negotiate the demands of Elizabethan fashion by wearing dresses that look like there is a coffee table attached to their hips. You wonder how they coped exiting the narrower voms.
The role of Essex calls for a wily courtier with designs on the Queen and a man on the make, concealing a searing lust for power. In acting terms, the role is a gift, but it is one that has evaded many who have played Essex in plays and films.

Leaving productions of Gloriana, I have always had an uneasy admiration for the orchestral Courtly Dances. They seem to me to outshine any of the singing parts and create a more authentic Elizabethan milieu. The same is true for me with Peter Grimes, where the Sea Interludes overshadow everything else.

Perhaps it’s just me.