Benjamin Britten

Benjamin Britten was one of the foremost British composers of the 20th century, celebrated for his operas, choral works, and orchestral music. Born in Suffolk on St. Cecilia’s Day, he studied with Frank Bridge and later at the Royal College of Music before rising to prominence with Peter Grimes (1945), hailed as the first great English opera since Purcell. He went on to compose landmark operas including Billy Budd, The Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice, alongside a vast body of chamber, vocal, and orchestral works. A pacifist and lifelong collaborator with tenor Peter Pears, Britten co-founded the Aldeburgh Festival in 1948, establishing a lasting legacy as both composer and cultural visionary.