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Chandos

Britten: Beggar's Opera / Curnyn, Bickley, White, Jones, Randle

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Details

Composer
BRITTEN, BENJAMIN
Artist
Curnyn, City Of London Sinfonia, Bickley, White, Jones, Randle, Gardiner, Maxwell, Fox, Mccafferty
Format
CD
Label
Chandos
Released
Oct 27, 2009
Catalog #
CHAN 10548(2)
UPC
095115154823

About

This Chandos production must now be first choice for this work.

Welcome to John Gay’s and Benjamin Britten’s romp through some seamy but also colourful and vibrant elements of 18 th century London. This work established the ballad opera in which spoken dialogue alternated with musical items. Gay’s satirical words were set to well-known traditional and popular tunes. Two hundred and twenty years later Britten added 20 th century accompaniments.

What’s entirely Britten here is the fresh caterwauling Overture (tr. 2) in which the various characters are given brief sound-portraits. There’s an oboe of sinuous sweetness for Polly (0:40), a cavorting clarinet for Macheath (1:29), suave strings and a jocular bassoon for the highwaymen (2:35) and a bantering circus-like master of ceremonies style for Mr Peachum (3:25). It’s all terrifically realized by the City of London Sinfonia who play marvellously throughout.

But what of the songs? Filch’s ‘’Tis woman that seduces all Mankind’ (tr. 5) is a good example of Britten allowing an original tune free rein while giving it modern dress with balmy woodwind and harp. The heroine Polly comes in (tr.12) to strains of her first song over which there are snatches of dialogue. This, like the melodrama which shortly follows (tr. 20), is Britten’s neat way of subverting the claim in the opening dialogue that this opera will have no “unnatural” recitative. Polly’s first song, ‘Virgins are like the fair flower in its lustre’ has as its tune Purcell’s ‘What shall I do to show how much I love him?’ from Dioclesian. Like its original, it is shown by Leah-Marian Jones to be at once wistful and coy. Her duet with Susan Bickley’s Mrs Peachum, ’O Polly, you might have toyed and kissed’ (tr. 15) catches well a cosy lullaby make-believe, aided by the gently rocking strings’ accompaniment. It’s lovely but only fleeting. Another notable accompaniment is the flutter-tonguing flute illustrating Polly’s ‘The Turtle thus with plaintive crying’ (tr. 19).

The highwayman hero Macheath enters and Tom Randle proves courteous enough to Jones’ simpering. The duet between Macheath and Polly, ’Were I laid on Greenland’s coast’ (tr. 22) is sweetly done but I felt the singers were over-conscious of the need to match the flowing orchestration and then the addition of chorus and drum. Some of the natural freshness is lost that’s present in the 1963 Aldeburgh Festival staging on DVD (Decca 074 3329). In this Chandos CD ‘The Miser thus a shilling sees’ (tr. 24) responds better to the typical careful attention of conductor Christian Curnyn’s approach. The disciplined emphasis of rhythm in its thorny progression matches the text’s poetic expression of loss. A pity, however, the second appearance of “Till home and friends are lost at last” (1:54) isn’t, as marked in the score ‘(in the distance)’ as the lovers go their separate ways. It’s an effect achieved in the BBC broadcast recording of the original 1948 production conducted by Britten (Pearl GEM 0225).

The highwaymen’s ’Fill ev’ry glass’ (tr. 26) is a drinking song of the sturdy, resolute variety in 2009 where a lustier abandon was shown in 1948. ‘Let us take the road’ (tr. 28) is infused with eagerness because of the excitement Britten and Curnyn convey in sketching the approach of the coach. Tom Randle’s Macheath has a too cultivated spoken voice but his singing is virile enough. You can hear this in ‘If the heart of a man is depressed with cares’ (tr. 29), marked as a caressing Andante backed by sweetly musing violin solo and rocking clarinet. Again I felt the line was held back a little in deference to the detail of the accompaniment. At this point Macheath is visited by a parade of prostitutes and what’s entertaining in the Decca DVD is rather curious here. With no sounds incorporated of women moving around, squealing and the like , you might think Macheath is imagining it all. I guess this is so as not to detract from Britten’s own variety parade of instruments, a kind of ‘Young Person’s Guide to Women’. There’s a superb tambourine to enliven the headiness of ‘Youth’s the season made for joys’. Randle sings with sunny freedom the ad libitum ‘Ah’s above the chorus repeat, though the top C final phrase is left to a soprano. Now betrayed by the women, his ‘At the Tree I shall suffer with pleasure’ has a disciplined testiness but less venom than Decca’s Kenneth McKellar.

Again more telling in this Chandos production is the more meditative material. The opening song of Act 2, ‘Man may escape from rope and gun’ (CD2, tr. 2), where Randle shows how transfixed Macheath is in his repetition of ‘woman’, savours past joys even while aware they’re the cause of present pain. Sarah Fox, as Lucy Lockit, is scarily efficient in her spite in ‘Thus when a good Housewife sees a rat’ (tr. 3). Polly’s response is the more sensitively elegiac ‘Thus when the Swallow seeking prey’ (tr. 10) and here Leah-Marian Jones is rich, smooth and eloquent. For me, however, Macheath’s ‘How happy could I be with either’ (tr. 11) is taken so fast it becomes too much a tongue-twister virtuoso piece losing some of its whimsy. In 1948 Peter Pears’ lighter touch was more effective. Polly has the easier task of rising above all this with ‘Cease your funning’ (tr.12), whose merging into the chorus and distancing of perspective are successfully achieved before we’re brought back to earth with a vengeance by Lucy’s crisp, snappy ‘Why how now, Madam Flirt!’ (tr. 13). The finale begins with Lucy and Polly showing great resolve. ‘No power on earth can e’er divide’ (tr. 14) is well progressed by Curnyn to an exciting ‘Horay’ trio response from Macheath, Lockit and Peachum. The there’s then increasing speed with a backing chorus in Sullivanesque abandon.

The opening song of Act 3, Lucy’s ‘When young at the bar’ (tr. 16) should be familiar as the tune is Purcell’s ‘If love’s a sweet passion’ from The Fairy Queen. Fox invests it with its original sad yearning while Curnyn points the claustrophobic cloying nature of Britten’s rich scoring of the wry accompaniment. Of a different order and part of the score’s kaleidoscopic variety is the relished archness of Frances McCafferty as Mrs Trapes delivering ‘In the days of my youth I could bill like a dove’ (tr. 21) with relished archness. To this is added the raucous carousing of Lockit and Peachum. Shortly there’s also the poignancy of Lucy and Polly’s ‘A curse attends a woman’s love’ (tr. 25). The paradox that these two candidates for Macheath’s affection can at one moment be united in their shared sense of rejection and understanding of the impossibility of their situation and at the next daggers drawn as rivals and eager still to court Macheath with warm affection at ‘Hither, dear husband, turn your eyes’ (tr. 28) is exploited dramatically. Fox’s pleading for Macheath’s life with ‘When he holds up his hand’ (tr. 31) ought to be the more persuasive, aided by Britten’s obbligato oboe accompaniment. ‘The Charge is prepared’ is a stock, formal chorus considerably pepped up by Mrs Peachum’s triumphant ‘Ah’s and glissando shrieks over its orchestral postlude.

Britten creates a closing scena (tr. 34) with Macheath in the condemned cell at first extolling the virtues of drink when about to die, then recalling pretty women. This gives way to the questioning protest ‘must I die?’. This is well sung by Randle but doesn’t quite have Pears’ grasp of the torment of ever-fluctuating contrasts of mood. Polly and Lucy offer a moving show of support, ‘Would I might be hanged’ to the heavily insistent backdrop of the funeral knell. In 1948 Britten’s knell is less weighty but more searing. Macheath realistically confesses ‘my courage is out’. The spoken dialogue wipes this all away. The highwaymen begin an address directly to the audience to demand the playwright provides a reprieve and all the players join in so the work can end with a dance. This bit of trickery and the rejection of the moral that vice must be punished works better in sound alone than the quicker and tamer removal of justice in the DVD. So you finish the Chandos sound recording remembering the company’s lusty tra-las and Fox’s top C.

This Chandos is the fullest version of the three currently available in the UK, playing at 117:52 in comparison with Decca’s 93:50 and Pearl’s 79:03. The differences are largely down to the Chandos including more of Gay’s spoken dialogue with alterations and additions by Tyrone Guthrie though even here I’d guess about a quarter of the dialogue published in the full and vocal scores has been cut. I don’t think this is a disadvantage because there’s a good deal of repetition in the text anyway. However, some musical numbers are also cut in the other recordings: Mrs Peachum’s ‘If Love the Virgin’s Heart invade’ (CD1 tr. 9) can only be heard here. To see the piece staged is a benefit. On the DVD the dialogue generally has a touch more pace and life, being less self-conscious in delivery. In the same vein the switch from dialogue to music flows more seamlessly and the folksong origins of many of the tunes are delivered with a more disarmingly innocent directness. The feeling between the characters is clearer in the ensemble numbers. The 1948 recording is striking for the verve of Britten’s direction, the charm of Pears’ light heroic manner and the lovely unforced upper register of Nancy Evans as Polly. Listen to her in ‘The Miser thus a shilling sees’. On the other hand it also at times adopts an over-romantic style, as in ‘O Polly, you might have toyed and kissed’ or is too patrician as in ‘Virgins are like the fair flower’.

To conclude, then, although sometimes more studied and deliberate than it might be, including careful points of emphasis within the dialogue, this Chandos production must now be first choice for this work. It also offers you in most luxuriant detail the colour and density of Britten’s orchestration.

-- Michael Greenhalgh, MusicWeb International

Tracklist 71 tracks

  1. Disc 1
  2. 1 Introduction: If Poverty be a title to Poetry (Beggar) 01:19
    Track
    1
    Title
    Introduction: If Poverty be a title to Poetry (Beggar)
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sirena Tocco
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  3. 2 Overture 04:24
    Track
    2
    Title
    Overture
    Duration
    04:24
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  4. 3 Act I: Through all the employments of life (Peachum) 01:18
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act I: Through all the employments of life (Peachum)
    Duration
    01:18
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  5. 4 Act I: Sir, black Moll hath sent word (Filch, Peachum) 00:42
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act I: Sir, black Moll hath sent word (Filch, Peachum)
    Duration
    00:42
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Robert Anthony Gardiner, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  6. 5 Act I: 'Tis Woman that seduces all Mankind (Filch, Peachum) 01:17
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act I: 'Tis Woman that seduces all Mankind (Filch, Peachum)
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Robert Anthony Gardiner, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  7. 6 Act I: But it is now high time to look about me (Peachum, Mrs. Peachum) 01:12
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act I: But it is now high time to look about me (Peachum, Mrs. Peachum)
    Duration
    01:12
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Jeremy White, Susan Bickley
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  8. 7 Act I: Women indeed are bitter bad judges - …ev'ry Man handsome who is going to the Camp - If any wench Venus' Girdle wear (Mrs. Peachum) 00:52
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act I: Women indeed are bitter bad judges - …ev'ry Man handsome who is going to the Camp - If any wench Venus' Girdle wear (Mrs. Peachum)
    Duration
    00:52
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Susan Bickley
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  9. 8 Act I: Was Captain Macheath here this morning? (Peachum, Mrs. Peachum) 00:54
    Track
    8
    Title
    Act I: Was Captain Macheath here this morning? (Peachum, Mrs. Peachum)
    Duration
    00:54
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Jeremy White, Susan Bickley
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  10. 9 Act I: If Love the Virgin's Heart invade (Mrs. Peachum, Peachum) 01:52
    Track
    9
    Title
    Act I: If Love the Virgin's Heart invade (Mrs. Peachum, Peachum)
    Duration
    01:52
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Susan Bickley, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  11. 10 Act I: A Maid is like the Golden ore (Mrs. Peachum) 00:29
    Track
    10
    Title
    Act I: A Maid is like the Golden ore (Mrs. Peachum)
    Duration
    00:29
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Susan Bickley
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  12. 11 Act I: Come hither, Filch (Mrs. Peachum, Filch) 00:59
    Track
    11
    Title
    Act I: Come hither, Filch (Mrs. Peachum, Filch)
    Duration
    00:59
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Susan Bickley, Robert Anthony Gardiner
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  13. 12 Act I: I know as well as any of the fine ladies (Polly) - Virgins are like the fair flower in its lustre (Polly, Peachum) 02:22
    Track
    12
    Title
    Act I: I know as well as any of the fine ladies (Polly) - Virgins are like the fair flower in its lustre (Polly, Peachum)
    Duration
    02:22
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  14. 13 Act I: Our Polly is a sad slut! (Mrs. Peachum, Omnes, Peachum, Polly) 01:19
    Track
    13
    Title
    Act I: Our Polly is a sad slut! (Mrs. Peachum, Omnes, Peachum, Polly)
    Duration
    01:19
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Susan Bickley, Jeremy White, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  15. 14 Act I: Can Love be controlled by Advice? (Polly, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum) 01:17
    Track
    14
    Title
    Act I: Can Love be controlled by Advice? (Polly, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum)
    Duration
    01:17
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Susan Bickley, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  16. 15 Act I: The girl shows such a readiness (Mrs. Peachum) - O Polly, you might have toyed and kissed (Mrs. Peachum, Polly, Omnes, Peachum) 02:17
    Track
    15
    Title
    Act I: The girl shows such a readiness (Mrs. Peachum) - O Polly, you might have toyed and kissed (Mrs. Peachum, Polly, Omnes, Peachum)
    Duration
    02:17
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Susan Bickley, Jeremy White, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  17. 16 Act I: I, like a Ship in storms, was tossed (Polly, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum) 00:53
    Track
    16
    Title
    Act I: I, like a Ship in storms, was tossed (Polly, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum)
    Duration
    00:53
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Susan Bickley, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  18. 17 Act I: A fox may steal your hens, Sir (Peachum, Mrs. Peachum, Polly) 01:45
    Track
    17
    Title
    Act I: A fox may steal your hens, Sir (Peachum, Mrs. Peachum, Polly)
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Jeremy White, Susan Bickley, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  19. 18 Act I: O ponder well! Be not severe (Polly, Mrs. Peachum) 00:48
    Track
    18
    Title
    Act I: O ponder well! Be not severe (Polly, Mrs. Peachum)
    Duration
    00:48
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Susan Bickley
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  20. 19 Act I: The Turtle thus with plaintive crying, her Lover dying (Polly, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum) 01:51
    Track
    19
    Title
    Act I: The Turtle thus with plaintive crying, her Lover dying (Polly, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum)
    Duration
    01:51
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Susan Bickley, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  21. 20 Act I: Now I'm a wretch indeed! (Polly, Omnes, Macheath) 03:02
    Track
    20
    Title
    Act I: Now I'm a wretch indeed! (Polly, Omnes, Macheath)
    Duration
    03:02
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  22. 21 Act I: My heart was so free (Macheath, Polly) 00:48
    Track
    21
    Title
    Act I: My heart was so free (Macheath, Polly)
    Duration
    00:48
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  23. 22 Act I: Were I laid on Greenland's coast (Macheath, Polly, Omnes) 01:59
    Track
    22
    Title
    Act I: Were I laid on Greenland's coast (Macheath, Polly, Omnes)
    Duration
    01:59
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  24. 23 Act I: O! what pain it is to part! (Polly, Macheath) 00:55
    Track
    23
    Title
    Act I: O! what pain it is to part! (Polly, Macheath)
    Duration
    00:55
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  25. 24 Act I: The Miser thus a shilling sees (Macheath, Polly) 02:25
    Track
    24
    Title
    Act I: The Miser thus a shilling sees (Macheath, Polly)
    Duration
    02:25
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  26. 25 Act I: But pr'thee, Mat, what is become of thy brother Tom? (Ben Budge, Mat of the Mint, Jemmy Twitcher, Nimming Ned, Harry Paddington, Wat Dreary) 00:41
    Track
    25
    Title
    Act I: But pr'thee, Mat, what is become of thy brother Tom? (Ben Budge, Mat of the Mint, Jemmy Twitcher, Nimming Ned, Harry Paddington, Wat Dreary)
    Duration
    00:41
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Aidan Smith, Ben Thapa, Paul Hopwood, Thomas Barnard, Bryn Evans, Mark Saberton
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  27. 26 Act I: Fill ev'ry glass, for wine inspires us (Gentlemen of the Road) 00:49
    Track
    26
    Title
    Act I: Fill ev'ry glass, for wine inspires us (Gentlemen of the Road)
    Duration
    00:49
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Bryn Evans, Aidan Smith, Mark Saberton, Ben Thapa, Paul Hopwood, Thomas Barnard
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  28. 27 Act I: Gentlemen, well met (Macheath, Mat of the Mint) 00:37
    Track
    27
    Title
    Act I: Gentlemen, well met (Macheath, Mat of the Mint)
    Duration
    00:37
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Ben Thapa
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  29. 28 Act I: I shall wish myself with you (Macheath) - Let us take the road (Harry Paddington, Gentlemen of the Road) 01:49
    Track
    28
    Title
    Act I: I shall wish myself with you (Macheath) - Let us take the road (Harry Paddington, Gentlemen of the Road)
    Duration
    01:49
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Bryn Evans, Aidan Smith, Mark Saberton, Ben Thapa, Paul Hopwood, Thomas Barnard
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  30. 29 Act I: If the heart of a man is depressed with cares (Macheath) 02:05
    Track
    29
    Title
    Act I: If the heart of a man is depressed with cares (Macheath)
    Duration
    02:05
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  31. 30 Act I: Dear Mrs. Coaxer, you are welcome (Macheath) - Youth's the season made for joys (Macheath, Ladies of the Town) 04:35
    Track
    30
    Title
    Act I: Dear Mrs. Coaxer, you are welcome (Macheath) - Youth's the season made for joys (Macheath, Ladies of the Town)
    Duration
    04:35
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Kathryn Jenkin, Siobhain Gibson, Clare McCaldin, Bernadette Lord, Alison Place, Katy Batho, Miranda Westcott, Katherine Paterson
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  32. 31 Act I: Now pray, ladies, take your places (Macheath, Jenny Diver, Mrs. Coaxer) 00:54
    Track
    31
    Title
    Act I: Now pray, ladies, take your places (Macheath, Jenny Diver, Mrs. Coaxer)
    Duration
    00:54
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Miranda Westcott, Clare McCaldin
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  33. 32 Act I: It is your own choice (Jenny Diver) - Before the barn-door crowing (Jenny Diver, Ladies of the Town, Macheath, Dolly Trull, Suky Tawdry) 01:32
    Track
    32
    Title
    Act I: It is your own choice (Jenny Diver) - Before the barn-door crowing (Jenny Diver, Ladies of the Town, Macheath, Dolly Trull, Suky Tawdry)
    Duration
    01:32
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Miranda Westcott, Bernadette Lord, Siobhain Gibson, Kathryn Jenkin, Clare McCaldin, Alison Place, Katy Batho, Katherine Paterson
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  34. 33 Act I: But to be sure, Sir (Jenny Diver) - The Gamesters and Lawyers are jugglers alike (Ladies of the Town, Betty Doxy, Macheath, Peachum) 01:39
    Track
    33
    Title
    Act I: But to be sure, Sir (Jenny Diver) - The Gamesters and Lawyers are jugglers alike (Ladies of the Town, Betty Doxy, Macheath, Peachum)
    Duration
    01:39
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Jeremy White, Leah Marian Jones, Kathryn Jenkin, Siobhain Gibson, Clare McCaldin, Bernadette Lord, Alison Place, Katy Batho, Miranda Westcott, Katherine Paterson
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  35. 34 Act I: The gentleman, ladies, lodges in Newgate - Constables, wait upon the Captain to his lodgings (Peachum) - At the Tree I shall suffer with pleasure (Macheath) 00:44
    Track
    34
    Title
    Act I: The gentleman, ladies, lodges in Newgate - Constables, wait upon the Captain to his lodgings (Peachum) - At the Tree I shall suffer with pleasure (Macheath)
    Duration
    00:44
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Jeremy White, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  36. Disc 2
  37. 1 Act II: Noble Captain, you are welcome (Lockit, Macheath) 00:53
    Track
    1
    Title
    Act II: Noble Captain, you are welcome (Lockit, Macheath)
    Duration
    00:53
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  38. 2 Act II: Man may escape from rope and gun (Macheath, Lucy Lockit) 03:28
    Track
    2
    Title
    Act II: Man may escape from rope and gun (Macheath, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    03:28
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  39. 3 Act II: Thus when a good Housewife sees a rat (Lucy Lockit, Macheath) 00:44
    Track
    3
    Title
    Act II: Thus when a good Housewife sees a rat (Lucy Lockit, Macheath)
    Duration
    00:44
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  40. 4 Act II: It is the pleasure of all you fine men (Lucy Lockit) - How cruel are the traytors (Lucy Lockit, Macheath) 02:32
    Track
    4
    Title
    Act II: It is the pleasure of all you fine men (Lucy Lockit) - How cruel are the traytors (Lucy Lockit, Macheath)
    Duration
    02:32
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  41. 5 Act II: The first time at the looking glass (Macheath, Lucy Lockit) 01:13
    Track
    5
    Title
    Act II: The first time at the looking glass (Macheath, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    01:13
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  42. 6 Act II: In this last affair, brother Peachum, we are agreed (Lockit, Peachum) 00:45
    Track
    6
    Title
    Act II: In this last affair, brother Peachum, we are agreed (Lockit, Peachum)
    Duration
    00:45
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  43. 7 Act II: Such language, brother, anywhere else (Lockit) - When you censure the age (Lockit, Lucy Lockit) 01:07
    Track
    7
    Title
    Act II: Such language, brother, anywhere else (Lockit) - When you censure the age (Lockit, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  44. 8 Act II: Is then his fate decreed, Sir? (Lucy Lockit, Lockit) 01:42
    Track
    8
    Title
    Act II: Is then his fate decreed, Sir? (Lucy Lockit, Lockit)
    Duration
    01:42
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Donald Maxwell
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  45. 9 Act II: Though the Chaplain was out of the way to-day (Lucy Lockit, Macheath, Polly) 01:09
    Track
    9
    Title
    Act II: Though the Chaplain was out of the way to-day (Lucy Lockit, Macheath, Polly)
    Duration
    01:09
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Tom Randle, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  46. 10 Act II: Thus when the Swallow seeking prey (Polly, Macheath, Lucy Lockit) 01:54
    Track
    10
    Title
    Act II: Thus when the Swallow seeking prey (Polly, Macheath, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Tom Randle, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  47. 11 Act II: If women's tongues can cease for an answer (Macheath) - I will not! (Lucy Lockit) - How happy could I be with either (Macheath, Polly) 01:26
    Track
    11
    Title
    Act II: If women's tongues can cease for an answer (Macheath) - I will not! (Lucy Lockit) - How happy could I be with either (Macheath, Polly)
    Duration
    01:26
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Leah Marian Jones, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  48. 12 Act II: Cease your funning (Polly, Omnes, Macheath, Lucy Lockit) 02:48
    Track
    12
    Title
    Act II: Cease your funning (Polly, Omnes, Macheath, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    02:48
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Tom Randle, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  49. 13 Act II: Why how now, Madam Flirt! (Lucy Lockit, Polly, Peachum, Lockit) 01:05
    Track
    13
    Title
    Act II: Why how now, Madam Flirt! (Lucy Lockit, Polly, Peachum, Lockit)
    Duration
    01:05
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Leah Marian Jones, Jeremy White, Donald Maxwell
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  50. 14 Act II: No power on earth can e'er divide (Lucy Lockit, Macheath, Lockit, Peachum, Omnes) 02:00
    Track
    14
    Title
    Act II: No power on earth can e'er divide (Lucy Lockit, Macheath, Lockit, Peachum, Omnes)
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Tom Randle, Donald Maxwell, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  51. 15 Act III: To be sure, wench, you must have been aiding and abetting (Lockit, Lucy Lockit) 00:49
    Track
    15
    Title
    Act III: To be sure, wench, you must have been aiding and abetting (Lockit, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    00:49
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  52. 16 Act III: Dear Sir, mention not my education (Lucy Lockit, Lockit) 03:19
    Track
    16
    Title
    Act III: Dear Sir, mention not my education (Lucy Lockit, Lockit)
    Duration
    03:19
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Donald Maxwell
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  53. 17 Act III: Ungrateful Macheath! (Lucy Lockit, Lockit) 01:06
    Track
    17
    Title
    Act III: Ungrateful Macheath! (Lucy Lockit, Lockit)
    Duration
    01:06
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Donald Maxwell
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  54. 18 Act III: Thus Gamesters united in friendship are found (Lockit) 01:43
    Track
    18
    Title
    Act III: Thus Gamesters united in friendship are found (Lockit)
    Duration
    01:43
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  55. 19 Act III: Our scene doth represent a Gaming House (Beggar) - The modes of the Court so common are grown (Macheath, Ben Budge, Mat of the Mint, Omnes) 02:43
    Track
    19
    Title
    Act III: Our scene doth represent a Gaming House (Beggar) - The modes of the Court so common are grown (Macheath, Ben Budge, Mat of the Mint, Omnes)
    Duration
    02:43
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Aidan Smith, Ben Thapa, Sirena Tocco
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  56. 20 Act III: The Coronation account, brother Peachum (Lockit, Peachum, Servant, Mrs. Trapes) 02:14
    Track
    20
    Title
    Act III: The Coronation account, brother Peachum (Lockit, Peachum, Servant, Mrs. Trapes)
    Duration
    02:14
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell, Jeremy White, Frances McCafferty
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  57. 21 Act III: In the days of my youth I could bill like a dove (Mrs. Trapes, Lockit, Peachum) 02:21
    Track
    21
    Title
    Act III: In the days of my youth I could bill like a dove (Mrs. Trapes, Lockit, Peachum)
    Duration
    02:21
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Frances McCafferty, Donald Maxwell, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  58. 22 Act III: In the days of my youth I could bill like a dove (Mrs. Trapes, Beggar) 00:39
    Track
    22
    Title
    Act III: In the days of my youth I could bill like a dove (Mrs. Trapes, Beggar)
    Duration
    00:39
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Frances McCafferty, Sirena Tocco
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  59. 23 Act III: Jealousy, rage, love and fear (Lucy Lockit) 01:07
    Track
    23
    Title
    Act III: Jealousy, rage, love and fear (Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    01:07
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  60. 24 Act III: I have the Rat's-bane ready (Lucy Lockit, Filch, Polly) 02:12
    Track
    24
    Title
    Act III: I have the Rat's-bane ready (Lucy Lockit, Filch, Polly)
    Duration
    02:12
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Leah Marian Jones, Robert Anthony Gardiner
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  61. 25 Act III: A curse attends a woman's love (Polly, Lucy Lockit) 01:38
    Track
    25
    Title
    Act III: A curse attends a woman's love (Polly, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    01:38
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  62. 26 Act III: When I was forced from him (Polly, Lucy Lockit) 01:02
    Track
    26
    Title
    Act III: When I was forced from him (Polly, Lucy Lockit)
    Duration
    01:02
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Sarah Fox
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  63. 27 Act III: Come, sweet lass (Lucy Lockit, Polly) 01:55
    Track
    27
    Title
    Act III: Come, sweet lass (Lucy Lockit, Polly)
    Duration
    01:55
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  64. 28 Act III: Now every glimmering of happiness is lost (Polly, Lucy Lockit, Macheath, Peachum) 01:45
    Track
    28
    Title
    Act III: Now every glimmering of happiness is lost (Polly, Lucy Lockit, Macheath, Peachum)
    Duration
    01:45
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Sarah Fox, Tom Randle, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  65. 29 Act III: Which way shall I turn me, how can I decide? (Macheath, Polly) 00:40
    Track
    29
    Title
    Act III: Which way shall I turn me, how can I decide? (Macheath, Polly)
    Duration
    00:40
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  66. 30 Act III: Dear, dear Sir, sink the material evidence (Polly) 01:53
    Track
    30
    Title
    Act III: Dear, dear Sir, sink the material evidence (Polly)
    Duration
    01:53
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  67. 31 Act III: How then can you be a tyrant to me (Lucy Lockit) - When he holds up his hand arraigned for his life (Lucy Lockit, Lockit) 02:00
    Track
    31
    Title
    Act III: How then can you be a tyrant to me (Lucy Lockit) - When he holds up his hand arraigned for his life (Lucy Lockit, Lockit)
    Duration
    02:00
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Sarah Fox, Donald Maxwell
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  68. 32 Act III: Ourselves, like the Great, to secure a retreat (Lockit, Peachum) 00:44
    Track
    32
    Title
    Act III: Ourselves, like the Great, to secure a retreat (Lockit, Peachum)
    Duration
    00:44
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  69. 33 Act III: We are ready, Sir… (Lockit) - …to conduct you to the Old Bailey! (Lockit, Lucy Lockit, Polly, Macheath, Peachum, Omnes) 01:54
    Track
    33
    Title
    Act III: We are ready, Sir… (Lockit) - …to conduct you to the Old Bailey! (Lockit, Lucy Lockit, Polly, Macheath, Peachum, Omnes)
    Duration
    01:54
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Donald Maxwell, Sarah Fox, Leah Marian Jones, Tom Randle, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  70. 34 Act III: O cruel, cruel case! (Macheath, Jailer) 05:10
    Track
    34
    Title
    Act III: O cruel, cruel case! (Macheath, Jailer)
    Duration
    05:10
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  71. 35 Act III: Would I might be hanged! (Polly, Lucy Lockit, Macheath) 01:58
    Track
    35
    Title
    Act III: Would I might be hanged! (Polly, Lucy Lockit, Macheath)
    Duration
    01:58
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Leah Marian Jones, Sarah Fox, Tom Randle
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  72. 36 Act III: But surely you don't intend that Macheath shall really executed? (Mat of the Mint, Beggar, Ben Budge, Lucy Lockit, Polly, Lockit, Peachum) 01:18
    Track
    36
    Title
    Act III: But surely you don't intend that Macheath shall really executed? (Mat of the Mint, Beggar, Ben Budge, Lucy Lockit, Polly, Lockit, Peachum)
    Duration
    01:18
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Ben Thapa, Sirena Tocco, Aidan Smith, Leah Marian Jones, Sarah Fox, Donald Maxwell, Jeremy White
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn
  73. 37 Act III: Thus I stand like a Turk, with his doxies around (Macheath, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum, Ladies of the Town, Gentlemen of the Road, Lucy Lockit, Polly, Mrs. Trapes, Lockit) 01:51
    Track
    37
    Title
    Act III: Thus I stand like a Turk, with his doxies around (Macheath, Mrs. Peachum, Peachum, Ladies of the Town, Gentlemen of the Road, Lucy Lockit, Polly, Mrs. Trapes, Lockit)
    Duration
    01:51
    Composer
    Benjamin Britten
    Performer
    Tom Randle, Susan Bickley, Jeremy White, Leah Marian Jones, Robert Anthony Gardiner, Donald Maxwell, Sarah Fox, Frances McCafferty, Kathryn Jenkin, Siobhain Gibson, Clare McCaldin, Bernadette Lord, Alison Place, Katy Batho, Miranda Westcott, Katherine Paterson, Bryn Evans, Aidan Smith, Mark Saberton, Ben Thapa, Paul Hopwood, Thomas Barnard, Sirena Tocco
    Ensemble
    City of London Sinfonia
    Conductor
    Christian Curnyn