''The Burning Fiery Furnace'' is an English music drama with music composed by

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten of Aldeburgh (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, o ...

, his Opus 77, to a libretto by

William Plomer William Charles Franklyn Plomer (10 December 1903 – 20 September 1973) was a South African and British novelist, poet and literary editor. He also wrote a series of librettos for Benjamin Britten. He wrote some of his poetry under the pseud ...

. One of Britten's three ''Parables for Church Performances'', this work received its premiere at the

St Bartholomew's Church, Orford The Church of St Bartholomew is the parish church of the town of Orford, England. A medieval church, dating from the fourteenth century, with reconstructions in the nineteenth and twentieth century, it is a Grade I listed building. In addition ...

, Suffolk, England, on 9 June 1966 by the English Opera Group.

Colin Graham Colin Graham OBE (22 September 1931 in Hove, England – 6 April 2007 in St. Louis, Missouri) was a stage director of opera, theatre, and television. Graham was educated at Northaw School (Hertfordshire), Stowe School and RADA. Early in his ...

was the stage director of this first production. Set designs were by Annena Stubbs. The United States premiere was presented at the

Caramoor Summer Music Festival The Caramoor Summer Music Festival is a music festival founded in 1945 that is held on the estate of the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts, which includes a Mediterranean-style stucco villa and is located about north of New York City in Ka ...

on 25 June 1967 with

Andrea Velis Andrea Velis (7 June 1932 – 4 October 1994) was an American operatic tenor who had a lengthy association with the Metropolitan Opera that spanned 33 seasons. Considered a highly skilled character actor, he excelled in supporting roles, often to ...

as Nebuchadnezzar. The scale and manner of instrumentation are similar to those in ''Curlew River'', but one notable difference is the use of the

alto trombone The alto trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone alto'') is the alto member of the trombone family of brass instruments, smaller than the tenor trombone. It is almost always pitched in E a fourth higher than the tenor, although examples pitched ...

. 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.

Roles

Synopsis

''The Burning Fiery Furnace'' tells the story of Nebuchadnezzar (the historical

Nebuchadnezzar II Nebuchadnezzar II, also Nebuchadrezzar II, meaning "Nabu, watch over my heir", was the second king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire, ruling from the death of his father Nabopolassar in 605 BC to his own death in 562 BC. Often titled 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 worship Nebuchadnezzar's image of gold. However, God saves them from death, as the voice of an angel joins the Israelites in a 'Benedicite'.

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 John Stanton Shirley-Quirk CBE (28 August 19317 April 2014) was an English bass-baritone. A member of the English Opera Group from 1964 to 1976, he gave premiere performances of several operatic and vocal works by Benjamin Britten, recording th ...

* Misael (Meshach):

Robert Tear Robert Tear, CBE (8 March 1939 – 29 March 2011) was a Welsh tenor singer, teacher and conductor. He first became known singing in the operas of Benjamin Britten in the mid-1960s. From the 1970s until his retirement in 1999 his main operati ...

* 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 Taylor The instrumentalists were Richard Adeney (flute),

Neill Sanders Neill Joseph Sanders (24 November 1923 – 19 April 1992) was a British horn player, principal horn of the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC Symphony Orchestra, and for 29 years a member of the Melos Ensemble. He was a professor at West ...

(horn), Roger Brenner (trombone), Cecil Aronowitz (viola), Keith Marjoram (double bass),

Osian Ellis Osian Gwynn Ellis (8 February 1928 – 5 January 2021) was a Welsh harpist, composer and teacher. He was principal harpist of the London Symphony Orchestra, a founding member of the Melos Ensemble and a Professor of harp at the Royal Academ ...

(harp),

James Blades James Blades OBE (9 September 190119 May 1999) was an English percussionist. He was one of the most distinguished percussionists in Western music, with a long and varied career. His book ''Percussion Instruments and their History'' (1971) is a s ...

(percussion) and

Philip Ledger Sir Philip Stevens Ledger, Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE, FRSE (12 December 1937 – 18 November 2012) was an English classical musician, conducting, choirmaster and academic, best remembered as Director of the Choir of King' ...

(organ). * Conductor: Benjamin Britten

References

Sources *Holden, Amanda (Ed.), ''The New Penguin Opera Guide'', New York: Penguin Putnam, 2001. *Warrack, John and West, Ewan, ''The Oxford Dictionary of Opera'' New York: OUP: 1992

External links

Britten-Pears Foundation, page on ''The Burning Fiery Furnace''

Recordings of ''The Burning Fiery Furnace'' on operadis-opera-discography.org.uk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burning Fiery Furnace Operas by Benjamin Britten Chamber operas Operas 1966 operas Cultural depictions of Daniel (biblical figure) Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego Operas based on the Bible