Tenors will forever owe a high note of thanks to the late gay British composer Benjamin Britten, since virtually everyone of his many works featured a glorious role for his lover, the late tenor Peter Pears. One of the most intriguing British singers since Pears is tenor Ian Bostridge who takes up three prime Britten song cycles in a beautiful new recording with the Berlin Philharmonic conducted by Simon Rattle (EMI). Bostridge shares with Pears a certain learned and austere drama that’s ideally suited for the dark and haunting “Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings.” The French cycle “Les Illuminations” is likewise crisp, elegant and gripping.
A version of this story originally appeared in The Advocate.
