- The Burning Fiery Furnace
"The Burning Fiery Furnace" is one of the three "Parables for Church Performances" composed by
Benjamin Britten , dating from1966 , and is his Opus 77. The other two 'church parables' are "Curlew River " (1964 ) and "The Prodigal Son" (1968 ).William Plomer was the librettist.The work was premiered at Orford Church, Suffolk, England, on 9 June 1966 by the English Opera Group. [John Warrack, "First Performances: Britten's "The Burning Fiery Furnace". "Tempo", No. 78, pp. 22-23 (1966).] The original cast included
Peter Pears (Nebuchadnezzar) and Bryan Drake (the Astrologer) [ [http://news.independent.co.uk/people/obituaries/article35826.ece Elizabeth Forbes, Obituary for Bryan Drake. "The Independent", 2 January 2002] ] [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,681234,00.html Keith Grant, Obituary for Bryan Drake. "The Guardian", 9 April 2002.] ] . The instrumentalists included the percussionist James Blades. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,296880,00.html David Corkhill, Obituary for James Blades. "The Guardian", 29 May 1999.] ] Set designs were by Annena Stubbs.Colin Graham was the stage director of this first production. [ [http://www.guardian.co.uk/obituaries/story/0,,2053228,00.html Alan Blyth, Obituary for Colin Graham. "The Guardian", 10 April 2007.] ]The scale and manner of instrumentation are similar to those in "Curlew River", but one notable difference is the use of the alto trombone. [cite journal | url=http://oq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/citation/4/3/178 | last=Thomas | first=Christopher J. | title=The Church Parables | journal=The Opera Quarterly | volume=4 | issue=3 | pages=178–184 | date=1986 | accessdate=2008-05-01 | doi=10.1093/oq/4.3.178]
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. [Clifford Hindley, "Homosexual Self-Affirmation and Self-Oppression in Two Britten Operas". [http://mq.oxfordjournals.org/content/vol76/issue2/index.dtl "The Musical Quarterly", 76(2)] , pp. 143-168 (Summer 1992).]
ynopsis
"The Burning Fiery Furnace" tells the story of
Nebuchadnezzar and the three Israelites, Ananias, Misael and Asarias (corresponding Babylonian names; Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego), who were thrown into a furnace for their refusal to worshipNebuchadnezzar ’s image of gold. However, God saves them from death, as the voice of an angel joins the Israelites in a 'Benedicte'.Recording
Britten himself, along with Viola Tunnard, supervised the first commercial recording of this work, for Decca/London, with the following participants:
* Nebuchadnezzar: Peter Pears
* The Astrologer: Bryan Drake
* Ananias (Shadrach):John Shirley-Quirk
* Misael (Meshach):Robert Tear
* Asarias (Abednego): Stafford Dean
* The Herald: Peter Leeming
* Chorus of Courtiers: Graham Allum, Peter Bedford, Carl Duggan, David Hartley, John McKenzie, Clive Molloy, Malcolm Rivers
* The Acolytes: Robert Alder, Paull Boucher, James Newby, Stephen Price, Christopher TaylorReferences
External links
* [http://www.brittenpears.org/?page=britten/repertoire/opera/furnace.html Britten-Pears Foundation, page on "The Burning Fiery Furnace"]
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