Page 96 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

Shot on location in the Suffolk countryside, a new film of Britten’s mystical

masterpiece Curlew River has been commissioned by the BBC to celebrate the
60th anniversary of its first performance and filmed as part of the 75th Aldeburgh
Festival 2024. The film is shot in the open Fenland landscape as evoked in Britten’s
music, along with the beautiful surroundings of Blythburgh Church – known as the
Cathedral of the Marshes.

The stellar cast is led by tenor Ian Bostridge, bass-baritone Sir Willard White,
baritone Peter Brathwaite, and singers and alumni from the Britten Pears Young
Artists programme. It is being reimagined for the stage by Claire van Kampen and
the music director is Audrey Hyland.

Curlew River is one of Benjamin Britten’s most inventive and mesmerising creations:
a Japanese theatre Noh-inspired one-act parable that tells of the rejection,
humiliation and ultimate acceptance of an outsider, a woman driven mad by the loss
of her son but who finds peace at his grave. It is unique – not only in opera but in
theatre, merging the mesmerising sound-world of the East with the heart of an
English medieval mystery play.

Performance highlights

BBC Four continues to be the home of great performances from around the UK, from
festivals to concerts and competitions. They include Franz Lehár’s The Merry Widow
from Glyndebourne, starring Danielle de Niese and conducted by John Wilson; Marin
Alsop conducting the BBC Concert Orchestra, BBC Symphony Chorus and the
London Adventist Choir at the Royal Albert Hall in Gospel Messiah in its European
premiere; Inside Classical performances showcasing the work of the BBC’s
Orchestras includes Grieg’s Piano Concerto with pianist Zee Zee and the BBC
National Orchestra of Wales; Gemma New conducting the BBC Scottish Symphony
Orchestra with Brahms Symphony No 4 in E Minor along with Geneva Lewis
performing Barber’s Violin Concerto. Television teams up with Radio 3 for the
relaunch of Friday Night is Music Night to bring audiences Music Night at Alexandra
Palace (w/t) with the BBC Concert Orchestra.

BBC Young Musician’s final returns to BBC Two for the first time since 2012, with the
quarter, semi-finals and auditions airing on BBC Four, where BBC Young Jazz
Musician will also be broadcast; the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra will return for
their traditional New Year’s Day and summer concerts from the Austrian capital;
there will be an extended programme from this year’s Leeds Piano competition and
the BBC Proms makes a welcome return to BBC One, Two and Four this summer
after a record breaking year for television and radio audiences in 2023.

BBC Radio 3 Schedule in detail (From April 2024)