The Burning Fiery Furnace

The Burning Fiery Furnace
Opera by Benjamin Britten
The composer in 1968
DescriptionA Parable for Church Performance
LibrettistWilliam Plomer
Premiere
9 June 1966 (1966-06-09)
Church of St Bartholomew, Orford, Suffolk

The Burning Fiery Furnace is an English music drama with music composed by Benjamin Britten, his Opus 77, to a libretto by William Plomer. One of Britten's three Parables for Church Performances, this work received its premiere at the St Bartholomew's Church, Orford, Suffolk, England, on 9 June 1966 by the English Opera Group.[1]

Colin Graham was the stage director of this first production.[2] Set designs were by Annena Stubbs. The United States premiere was presented at the Caramoor Summer Music Festival on 25 June 1967 with Andrea Velis as Nebuchadnezzar.[3]

The scale and manner of instrumentation are similar to those in Curlew River, but one notable difference is the use of the alto trombone.[4]

Clifford Hindley has commented on a reading of a subtext sympathetic to homosexuality on the part of both Britten and Plomer in their treatment of the story.[5]

  1. ^ Warrack, John (Autumn 1966). "First Performances: Britten's The Burning Fiery Furnace". Tempo. New Series (78): 22–23. JSTOR 942504.
  2. ^ Alan Blyth (10 April 2007). "Colin Graham". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 February 2017.
  3. ^ Allen Hughes (26 June 1967). "Britten Parable Makes U.S. Debut; 'Fiery Furnace,' 2d Church Work, Given at Caramoor". The New York Times. p. 39.
  4. ^ Thomas, Christopher J. (1986). "The Church Parables". The Opera Quarterly. 4 (3): 178–184. doi:10.1093/oq/4.3.178. Retrieved 1 May 2008.
  5. ^ Hindley, Clifford (Summer 1992). "Homosexual Self-Affirmation and Self-Oppression in Two Britten Operas". The Musical Quarterly. 76 (2): 143–168. doi:10.1093/mq/76.2.143. Retrieved 27 February 2017.