British Youth Opera Performs PAUL BUNYAN, Now thru Sept 14

This year British Youth Opera (BYO) will showcase the next generation of opera stars and celebrate Benjamin Britten's centenary with the only performance in England of Paul Bunyan. A week of BYO performances will take place at the Sadler's Wells' Peacock Theatre from today 7 - 14 September.

As part of the nationwide Britten 100 celebrations this will be the first Paul Bunyan that has appeared on the London stage since 1999. It is a unique opportunity to see Benjamin Britten's first 'choral operetta' - as he called it - written in collaboration with W H Auden and with a Broadway premiere in mind. It is a light-hearted opera with an easy-going musical style in the American tradition that runs from Gershwin to Bernstein and Sondheim.

Auden's libretto is based on the story of the legendary American folklore hero 'as tall as the Empire State' and a group of lumberjacks, brought together to face and defeat the difficulties of life in the New World.

Peter Robinson, BYO Artistic Director, says: 'Paul Bunyan is an ideal piece for BYO, especially in the composer's centenary year. It offers a huge number of roles for our young singers, with some of Britten's most lyrical music and a colourful libretto.'

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