No description available.

Benjamin Britten is one of the foremost contemporary English composers. He has successfully revived English opera, dead since Purcell, and this is one of his most significant contributions to the contemporary music world. Therefore, the purpose of this document is to give the reader some insight into Britten' s operatic style. The first chapter contains a sketch of Britten's life with particular reference to his operas, along with general characteristics of his writing. The following chapter has been devoted to a closer consideration of four of his2 operas: Peter Grimes, ;Theof. Lueretia, Albert Herring, and Gloriana. Since an analysis of entire operas would exceed the limitations of this paper, the soprano role has been selected as representative of Britten's operatic style. The vocal score of Turn of the Screw was not available for this study, and his other operas do not contain soprano roles. With each analysis a brief synopsis of the plot is included as a background for the musical analysis. Following the plot is a general treatment of the outstanding style features of the role. In order to present another facet of Britten's writing, the specific analysis of each soprano role is handled from a thematic standpoint. That is, the role is scrutinized for important recurring motives, the significance of these motives is noted, and examination made of their relationship to the opera as a. whole. Reti's Thematic Process in Mlusic has proved an invaluable guide to this type of analysis.