Owen Wingrave

When Britten started to work on "Owen Wingrave" he conceived the opera both for performance on stage and for TV production. In fact the first TV production of Owen Wingrave was broadcasted in 1971, two years before opera premiere at Covent Garden. This 2001 production, made for Channel 4 television, intriguingly tells the drama of Owen, who refused to follow a military carees like his ancesotrs. The story, which has pacifism as its theme, was written by Henry James, and the libretto by Myfanwy Piper. In the second part of this DVD the intense documentary Britten - The Hidden Heart tells the story of Benjamin Britten and his life-long friend Peter Pears, with spots on Britten's most famous works "Peter Grimes", "War Requiem" and "Death in Venice". British director Magaret Williams has adapted a number of stage works for the screen, many of which have won international accolades. Notable productions include thonas Ades' opera "Powder Her Face", The Welsh National Opera's Poppea and Judith Weir's "Blond Eckbert" at the English National Opera.