{"id":{"repo_id":"unt","oai_identifier":"info:ark/67531/metadc4837"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/unt/info:ark/67531/metadc4837","repository":{"repo_id":"unt","name":"University of North Texas","base_url":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Myth in the Early Collaborations of Benjamin Britten and William Plomer","abstract":"Although the most well-known collaborations of William Plomer and Benjamin Britten are the three church parables (or church operas) - Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace, and The Prodigal Son - by the time of the completion of Curlew River in 1964, the librettist and composer had been working together for well over a decade. During that time, they had completed the opera Gloriana and had considered collaborating on three other projects: one a children's opera on Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mr. Tod, one on an original story of Plomer's called \"Tyco the Vegan,\" and one on a Greek myth (possibly Arion, Daedalus and Icarus, or Phaëthon). Far from being footnotes to the parables, these early collaborations established Plomer and Britten's working relationship and brought to light their common interests as well as their independent ones. Their successive early collaborations, therefore, can be thought of as a conversation through creative expression. This metaphor of conversation can be applied both to successive collaborations and to the completed Gloriana, in that the libretto and the music can be seen as representing different interpretations of both major and minor characters in the opera, including Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. In Gloriana, Britten employed at least three specifically musical methods of challenging the meaning of the libretto: instrumental commentary, textural density, and dramatically significant referential pitches. Plomer and Britten's conversation, carried out through these early collaborations, touches on the function of art, activism, and modern morality, but it is best circumscribed by the concept of myth. Two divergent and very influential interpretations of myth - Matthew Arnold's \"sweetness and light\" and primal liberation (deduced from Nietzsche) - can be usefully applied to Plomer and Britten's unfolding conversation. The implications of Plomer and Britten's adoption of myth as the topic and language of their collaborative conversation are vast and must be considered in order to understand more fully their work together.","abstract_html":"Although the most well-known collaborations of William Plomer and Benjamin Britten are the three church parables (or church operas) - Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace, and The Prodigal Son - by the time of the completion of Curlew River in 1964, the librettist and composer had been working together for well over a decade. During that time, they had completed the opera Gloriana and had considered collaborating on three other projects: one a children's opera on Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mr. Tod, one on an original story of Plomer's called "Tyco the Vegan," and one on a Greek myth (possibly Arion, Daedalus and Icarus, or Phaëthon). Far from being footnotes to the parables, these early collaborations established Plomer and Britten's working relationship and brought to light their common interests as well as their independent ones. Their successive early collaborations, therefore, can be thought of as a conversation through creative expression. This metaphor of conversation can be applied both to successive collaborations and to the completed Gloriana, in that the libretto and the music can be seen as representing different interpretations of both major and minor characters in the opera, including Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. In Gloriana, Britten employed at least three specifically musical methods of challenging the meaning of the libretto: instrumental commentary, textural density, and dramatically significant referential pitches. Plomer and Britten's conversation, carried out through these early collaborations, touches on the function of art, activism, and modern morality, but it is best circumscribed by the concept of myth. Two divergent and very influential interpretations of myth - Matthew Arnold's "sweetness and light" and primal liberation (deduced from Nietzsche) - can be usefully applied to Plomer and Britten's unfolding conversation. The implications of Plomer and Britten's adoption of myth as the topic and language of their collaborative conversation are vast and must be considered in order to understand more fully their work together.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Salfen, Kevin McGregor"],"institution":"University of North Texas","degree_name":null,"degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Notley, Margaret Anne","McTee, Cindy, 1953-","Bush, Deanna D."],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2005,"date_issued":"2005-08","date_published":"2005-08","updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:35:09Z","subjects":["Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976. Operas.","Plomer, William, 1903-1973.","Curlew River","opera","libretto studies","England","myth and music"],"languages":["English"],"rights":["Public","Copyright","Salfen, Kevin M.","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved."],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oclc: 69926841","https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4837/","ark: ark:/67531/metadc4837"],"render_values":[{"text":"oclc: 69926841","href":null,"code":true},{"text":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4837/","href":"https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4837/","code":true},{"text":"ark: ark:/67531/metadc4837","href":null,"code":true}]}]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://doi.org/10.12794/metadc4837","outbound_label":"DOI","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Notley, Margaret Anne","McTee, Cindy, 1953-","Bush, Deanna D."]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Salfen, Kevin McGregor"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["2005-08"]},{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["University of North Texas"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis or Dissertation"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976. Operas.","Plomer, William, 1903-1973.","Curlew River","opera","libretto studies","England","myth and music"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Public","Copyright","Salfen, Kevin M.","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved."]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["oclc: 69926841","doi: 10.12794/metadc4837","https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4837/","ark: ark:/67531/metadc4837"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["Although the most well-known collaborations of William Plomer and Benjamin Britten are the three church parables (or church operas) - Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace, and The Prodigal Son - by the time of the completion of Curlew River in 1964, the librettist and composer had been working together for well over a decade. During that time, they had completed the opera Gloriana and had considered collaborating on three other projects: one a children's opera on Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mr. Tod, one on an original story of Plomer's called \"Tyco the Vegan,\" and one on a Greek myth (possibly Arion, Daedalus and Icarus, or Phaëthon). Far from being footnotes to the parables, these early collaborations established Plomer and Britten's working relationship and brought to light their common interests as well as their independent ones. Their successive early collaborations, therefore, can be thought of as a conversation through creative expression. This metaphor of conversation can be applied both to successive collaborations and to the completed Gloriana, in that the libretto and the music can be seen as representing different interpretations of both major and minor characters in the opera, including Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. In Gloriana, Britten employed at least three specifically musical methods of challenging the meaning of the libretto: instrumental commentary, textural density, and dramatically significant referential pitches. Plomer and Britten's conversation, carried out through these early collaborations, touches on the function of art, activism, and modern morality, but it is best circumscribed by the concept of myth. Two divergent and very influential interpretations of myth - Matthew Arnold's \"sweetness and light\" and primal liberation (deduced from Nietzsche) - can be usefully applied to Plomer and Britten's unfolding conversation. The implications of Plomer and Britten's adoption of myth as the topic and language of their collaborative conversation are vast and must be considered in order to understand more fully their work together."]},{"key":"dc:format","label":"Dc Format","values":["Text"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Myth in the Early Collaborations of Benjamin Britten and William Plomer"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Notley, Margaret Anne","McTee, Cindy, 1953-","Bush, Deanna D."],"dc:creator":["Salfen, Kevin McGregor"],"dc:date":["2005-08"],"dc:description":["Although the most well-known collaborations of William Plomer and Benjamin Britten are the three church parables (or church operas) - Curlew River, The Burning Fiery Furnace, and The Prodigal Son - by the time of the completion of Curlew River in 1964, the librettist and composer had been working together for well over a decade. During that time, they had completed the opera Gloriana and had considered collaborating on three other projects: one a children's opera on Beatrix Potter's The Tale of Mr. Tod, one on an original story of Plomer's called \"Tyco the Vegan,\" and one on a Greek myth (possibly Arion, Daedalus and Icarus, or Phaëthon). Far from being footnotes to the parables, these early collaborations established Plomer and Britten's working relationship and brought to light their common interests as well as their independent ones. Their successive early collaborations, therefore, can be thought of as a conversation through creative expression. This metaphor of conversation can be applied both to successive collaborations and to the completed Gloriana, in that the libretto and the music can be seen as representing different interpretations of both major and minor characters in the opera, including Elizabeth I and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. In Gloriana, Britten employed at least three specifically musical methods of challenging the meaning of the libretto: instrumental commentary, textural density, and dramatically significant referential pitches. Plomer and Britten's conversation, carried out through these early collaborations, touches on the function of art, activism, and modern morality, but it is best circumscribed by the concept of myth. Two divergent and very influential interpretations of myth - Matthew Arnold's \"sweetness and light\" and primal liberation (deduced from Nietzsche) - can be usefully applied to Plomer and Britten's unfolding conversation. The implications of Plomer and Britten's adoption of myth as the topic and language of their collaborative conversation are vast and must be considered in order to understand more fully their work together."],"dc:format":["Text"],"dc:identifier":["oclc: 69926841","doi: 10.12794/metadc4837","https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc4837/","ark: ark:/67531/metadc4837"],"dc:language":["English"],"dc:publisher":["University of North Texas"],"dc:rights":["Public","Copyright","Salfen, Kevin M.","Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved."],"dc:subject":["Britten, Benjamin, 1913-1976. Operas.","Plomer, William, 1903-1973.","Curlew River","opera","libretto studies","England","myth and music"],"dc:title":["Myth in the Early Collaborations of Benjamin Britten and William Plomer"],"dc:type":["Thesis or Dissertation"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T05:35:09Z"}