Benjamin Britten & Peter Pears
Britten and Pears were collaborators and lovers for 39 years. Learn more about their life and work together, meet their creative circle, and step into their home – The Red House, Aldeburgh.
List of News Articles
![Children in animal headdresses in front of a hollywood-style mirror in a still from Moonrise Kingdom, dir Wes Anderson, 2012]()
Wes Anderson and the music of Benjamin Britten
A decade after Moonrise Kingdom brought the music of Benjamin Britten to a brand new audience, Hannah Lack finds that for…![]()
Who was Benjamin Britten?
Benjamin Britten was one of the twentieth century’s great composers. He is particularly known for his operas, but also for choral works, and the many…![]()
Inside Benjamin Britten’s creative process: A new film by Emily Richardson
Britten’s creative inspiration came from where he lived and worked. How did composing while walking in this particular Suffolk landscape shape the…![]()
My Beloved Man: The Letters of Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears
Toward the end of his life Benjamin Britten urged his authorized biographer, Donald Mitchell, to “tell the truth about Peter and me.” Britten’s nearly…![]()
Archive Treasures: Reynolds Stone, Britten, Pears and their Bookplate
During recent times when catching up on reading has been a viable option for many of us, find out how Britten and Pears’ unique and beautiful…![]()
Archive Treasures: Travel and travails - musicians on the road in 1950
One of the joys of the Britten Pears archive is the light it sheds on everyday practicalities, the nuts and bolts of Britten and Pears’ life and…![Portrait of two older men with grey hair, in cardigan suits, on outdoor chairs, sitting close together]()
Britten & Pears
Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears were together from 1939 until Britten’s death in 1976. Yet during Britten’s lifetime, neither spoke publicly about…![Peter Pears as an older man with white hair, in a 3/4 length coat, standing in front of MET sign]()
Who was Peter Pears?
Peter Pears is considered to be one of the great singers of the twentieth century. Born in Farnham, Surrey, he was the youngest of Arthur and…![]()
Archive Treasures: Thirty-seven love – Britten, Pears, sport and recreation at the Red House
Romanticism dies hard: over two hundred years since the movement spread Sturm und Drang over Europe, it still informs our vision of what a…![]()
Archive Treasures: A Spiritual Home – Britten, Pears and The Red House
The former homes of famous people are referred to, variously, as ‘house museums’ or ‘personality houses’. They are effectively physical ‘biographies’,…![]()
Archive Treasures: Browsing the Bookshelves – Reading Britten and Pears
Close inspection of the bookshelves in The Red House reveals a number of volumes that must have had special resonance for Britten and Pears. These…![]()
Archive Treasures: Love in the accounts
The archive at The Red House spans all aspects of Britten and Pears’ lives together – from their professional activities, the compositions and…
