Kdo je hodil z Peter Pears?

Sir Peter Neville Luard Pears ( PEERZ; 22 June 1910 – 3 April 1986) was an English tenor. His career was closely associated with the composer Benjamin Britten, his personal and professional partner for nearly forty years.

Pears' musical career started slowly. He was at first unsure whether to concentrate on playing piano and organ, or singing; it was not until he met Britten in 1937 that he threw himself wholeheartedly into singing. Once he and Britten were established as a partnership, the composer wrote many concert and operatic works with Pears's voice in mind, and the singer played roles in more than ten operas by Britten. In the concert hall, Pears and Britten were celebrated recitalists, known in particular for their performances of lieder by Schubert and Schumann. Together they recorded most of the works written for Pears by Britten, as well as a wide range of music by other composers. Working with other musicians, Pears sang an extensive repertoire of music from four centuries, from the Tudor period to the most modern times.

With Britten, Pears was a co-founder of the Aldeburgh Festival in 1947 and the Britten-Pears School in 1972. After Britten died in 1976, Pears remained an active participant in the festival and the school, where he was director of singing. His voice had a distinctive timbre, not to all tastes; however, critics recognised its uniqueness and ability to express atmosphere and nuance.

Edward Benjamin Britten, tudi Lord Britten of Aldeburgh, angleški skladatelj, dirigent in pianist, * 22. november 1913, Lowestoft, † 4. december 1976, Aldeburgh.

Rodil se je v Suffolku, kot sin zobozdravnika. Svojo glasbeno nadarjenost je pokazal že zelo zgodaj, saj je začel pisati skladbe kot otrok. Britten je največji angleški skladatelj 20. stoletja in ena od velikih osebnosti svetovne glasbe. Avtor Preproste simfonije in Vodnika po orkestru za mladega človeka je bil tudi izjemno uspešen operni skladatelj. Med njegovimi najbolj izvajanimi operami je tudi »Peter Grimes«. Napisal je okoli 800 skladb.