Benjamin Britten and Christianity

Thesis

This thesis charts the significance of the topic of Christianity in the dramaturgy of Britten's operas, hi light of recent research, it takes an essentially negative view of Britten's relationship with the religious orthodoxy of his day, a view consistent with Britten's own. However, it will be demonstrated that a dialectic with the Christian element is embodied in a majority of Britten's operatic dramaturgies. This is, in part, connected to the established theme of Britten's obsession with the corruption of innocence by experience: it is rooted in the association of a 'clear, untroubled' Christian belief with the innocence of a childhood dominated by his religious mother; the experience of adult life with Pears after the death of his parents; the decisive impact of W.H. Auden, who primarily effected the transition between these two worlds.

It will be shown how these factors influenced the shaping of the libretti of his operas. It will also be shown how the Christian dialectic, manifesting itself most powerfully and painfully in the War Requiem and three parables for Church performance of the 1960s, is one of a number of discretely autonomous strata that form the unique admixture of Britten's aesthetic and artistic personality.

It will be demonstrated, in conclusion, that in art as in life, the contingencies Britten imposed upon the Christian element are ultimately displaced by other 'non-Christian' elements related to the Classical paradigm.

Authors: Allen, S; Allen, Stephen Arthur

• Publication date: 2003
• DOI: 10.5287/ora-v0xqe49dk
• Type of award: DPhil
• Level of award: Doctoral
• Awarding institution: University of Oxford
• Language: English
• Subjects: Dramaturgy; Christianity and the arts; Religion