A Midsummer Night's Dream

Adopted from one of Shakespeare’s most beloved comedies, the opera A Midsummer Night’s Dreamconjures a mystical experience where love, obsession, and mythical creatures collide. Composer Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), in collaboration with his partner Peter Pears, cleverly pruned Shakespeare’s masterpiece to create one of the most frequently performed operas written after WWII. Britten interweaves three distinct soundscapes for each realm of the Dream: the lovers, fairies, and the rustics. This skillful orchestration gives amazing timbres, emotion, and texture to Shakespeare’s words. By turns delicate, rambunctious, and rapturous, the music leads us on a bewitching and magical journey.