Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten

Centenary[edit]

In September 2012, to mark the composer's forthcoming centenary, the Britten-Pears Foundation launched "Britten 100", a collaboration of leading organisations in the performing arts, publishing, broadcasting, film, academia and heritage.^[267] Among the events were the release of a feature film Benjamin Britten – Peace and Conflict,^[268] and a centenary exhibition at the British Library.^[269] The Royal Mint issued a 50-pence piece, to mark the centenary – the first time a composer has featured on a British coin.^[270]
Centenary performances of the War Requiem were given at eighteen locations in Britain. Opera productions included Owen Wingrave at Aldeburgh, Billy Budd at Glyndebourne, Death in Venice by English National Opera, Gloriana by The Royal Opera, and Peter Grimes, Death in Venice and A Midsummer Night's Dream by Opera North.^[271] Peter Grimes was performed on the beach at Aldeburgh, opening the 2013 Aldeburgh Festival in June 2013, with Steuart Bedford conducting and singers from the Chorus of Opera North and the Chorus of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,^[272] described by The Guardian as "a remarkable, and surely unrepeatable achievement."^[273]
Internationally, the anniversary was marked by performances of the War Requiem, Peter Grimes and other works in four continents. In the US the centennial events were described as "coast to coast", with a Britten festival at Carnegie Hall, and performances at the New York Philharmonic, the Metropolitan Opera and Los Angeles Opera.^[274]