--- title: "7 Britten Quotes by 6 authors" description: "Browse 7 Britten quotes by 6 authors. Discover the best Britten sayings and thoughts." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/stephen-hough-6372_anything_in-britten-or-berg-there-s-a-tension-bet_22211.jpg" --- > [In Britten or Berg, there's a tension between the sweet and the sour, between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the tonal and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/in-britten-or-berg-there-s-a-tension-between-the-sweet-and-the-sour/) [Stephen Hough](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-hough/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/stephen-hough-6372_anything_in-britten-or-berg-there-s-a-tension-bet_22211.jpg) > [I've been kind of listening to the composer Britten and his rendition of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' The opening track is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev-hynes/i-ve-been-kind-of-listening-to-the-composer-britten-and-his-rendition/) [Dev Hynes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dev-hynes/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dev-hynes-19018_amazing_i-ve-been-kind-of-listening-to-the-compo_284022.jpg) > [First, my frame of reference for the Britten opera shifted. I'd always thought of Britten's approach in Death in Venice as another…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/first-my-frame-of-reference-for-the-britten-opera-shifted-i-d-always/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/philip-kitcher-4028_approach_first-my-frame-of-reference-for-the-brit_742662.jpg) > [Britten's opera tends to see things in simpler terms. It portrays an Aschenbach who wants a richer form of sexual fulfillment, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/britten-s-opera-tends-to-see-things-in-simpler-terms-it-portrays-an/) [Philip Kitcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philip-kitcher/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/philip-kitcher-4028_conventions_britten-s-opera-tends-to-see-things-in-s_1121846.jpg) > [I'm not sure any narrative model has been more important for me than Benjamin Britten's chamber operas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/garth-greenwell/i-m-not-sure-any-narrative-model-has-been-more-important-for-me-than/) [Garth Greenwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/garth-greenwell/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/351/garth-greenwell-14165_chamber_i-m-not-sure-any-narrative-model-has-bee_1604288.jpg) > [When I was doing 'Beau Travail,' I listened a lot to Benjamin Britten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/claire-denis/when-i-was-doing-beau-travail-i-listened-a-lot-to-benjamin-britten/) [Claire Denis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/claire-denis/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e6c/claire-denis-8648_beau_when-i-was-doing-beau-travail-i-listened_1848627.jpg) > [My mother sent me to dance and drama classes when I was young, and then I got a stage role in 'Set…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shirley-eaton/my-mother-sent-me-to-dance-and-drama-classes-when-i-was-young-and/) [Shirley Eaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shirley-eaton/) [Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb2/shirley-eaton-32797_classes_my-mother-sent-me-to-dance-and-drama-cla_2519163.png) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "ItemList", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/britten/#itemlist", "name": "Britten Quotes", "numberOfItems": 7, "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "In Britten or Berg, there's a tension between the sweet and the sour, between the familiar and the unfamiliar, the tonal and the atonal, the happy and the sad. That, to me, is what all western art is about - that tension. It's why we want to say anything at all.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Stephen Hough" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-hough/in-britten-or-berg-there-s-a-tension-between-the-sweet-and-the-sour/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/stephen-hough-6372_anything_in-britten-or-berg-there-s-a-tension-bet_22211.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/stephen-hough-6372_anything_in-britten-or-berg-there-s-a-tension-bet_22211.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3c9/stephen-hough-6372_anything_in-britten-or-berg-there-s-a-tension-bet_22211.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“In Britten or Berg, there's a tension between the sweet and the sour, between the familiar and the…” — Stephen Hough", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've been kind of listening to the composer Britten and his rendition of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' The opening track is a choral section where all the weird fairies, who are played by kids in the production, sing. It's a crazy opening melody and chord sequence - really amazing.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Dev Hynes" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dev-hynes/i-ve-been-kind-of-listening-to-the-composer-britten-and-his-rendition/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dev-hynes-19018_amazing_i-ve-been-kind-of-listening-to-the-compo_284022.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dev-hynes-19018_amazing_i-ve-been-kind-of-listening-to-the-compo_284022.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4d2/dev-hynes-19018_amazing_i-ve-been-kind-of-listening-to-the-compo_284022.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I've been kind of listening to the composer Britten and his rendition of 'A Midsummer Night's Dream.' 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As I read and listened and thought, however, Billy Budd came to seem a more appropriate foil for Death in Venice.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Kitcher" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/first-my-frame-of-reference-for-the-britten-opera-shifted-i-d-always/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/philip-kitcher-4028_approach_first-my-frame-of-reference-for-the-brit_742662.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/philip-kitcher-4028_approach_first-my-frame-of-reference-for-the-brit_742662.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/66d/philip-kitcher-4028_approach_first-my-frame-of-reference-for-the-brit_742662.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“First, my frame of reference for the Britten opera shifted. I'd always thought of Britten's approach in…” — Philip Kitcher", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } } }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "item": { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Britten's opera tends to see things in simpler terms. It portrays an Aschenbach who wants a richer form of sexual fulfillment, and who is hemmed in by the social conventions to which he subscribes. But Visconti's use of the Mahler Adagietto is perfect for what I take to be Aschenbach's sexual desire.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Philip Kitcher" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philip-kitcher/britten-s-opera-tends-to-see-things-in-simpler-terms-it-portrays-an/", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/philip-kitcher-4028_conventions_britten-s-opera-tends-to-see-things-in-s_1121846.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/philip-kitcher-4028_conventions_britten-s-opera-tends-to-see-things-in-s_1121846.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d9/philip-kitcher-4028_conventions_britten-s-opera-tends-to-see-things-in-s_1121846.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Britten's opera tends to see things in simpler terms. 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