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Classical Pride: My Beloved Man

with ViiV Healthcare & GAY TIMES

,Milton Court Concert Hall
Members of the Fourth Choir singing on stage

My Beloved Man – a celebration by the Fourth Choir, London’s LGBTQ+ classical choir, of the love affair between Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears.

Using the letters they wrote to each other, Britten and Pears tell their story in their own words – living illegally as a same-sex couple, the hardships of the War, their success and the challenges of Britten’s final years.

Their story is illuminated with music by Britten and his contemporaries as well as Britten’s beloved Purcell and Monteverdi, plus the world premiere of a Classical Pride commission by Isobel Waller-Bridge (Fleabag, Emma), to a text written by a refugee relocated by one of Classical Pride’s charity partners, Rainbow Railroad.

'Tears, smiles, sublime music and the most wonderful selection of letters, passionately and respectfully delivered' – Audience reaction to My Beloved Man.

Tagged with: Classical music Young Barbican Pride 2024 More...

This performance will finish at approximately 9.20pm, including a 20-minute interval 

Classical Pride is non-profit, and net proceeds are donated to three important LGBTQ+ charities, Rainbow Railroad, Terrence Higgins Trust and GAY TIMES' Amplifund.

Classical Pride is promoted by Ozero Arts, an arts production charity (registered charity no. 1155338) that undertakes ambitious artistic projects - conceiving, producing and raising money for bold ideas across live and recorded music.

 

Programme

  • Henry Purcell   Thou knowest Lord the secrets of our hearts
  • Samuel Barber   The Coolin
  • Pérotin   Beata Viscera III
  • Imogen Holst   The Cobbler
  •   Sweet Country
  • Benjamin Britten   The Ballad of Green Broom
  • Aaron Copland   Help Us O Lord
  • Michael Tippett   'Deep River' from A Child of Our Time
  • Benjamin Britten   'Time' (Choral Dance 1) from Gloriana
  •   'Concord (Choral Dance 2) from Gloriana
  • Thomas Morley   Hard by a Crystal Fountain
  • Claudio Monteverdi   'Che dar più vi poss’io' from Madrigals, Book 5
  •   'Io mi son giovinetta' from Madrigals, Book 4
  • Imogen Holst   A Hymne to Christ
  • Leonard Bernstein   'Somewhere' from West Side Story
  • Benjamin Britten   Hymn to the Virgin
  • Henry Purcell (arr Nicholas Chalmers)   Dido’s Lament
  • Isobel Waller-Bridge   New work (world premiere)

Performers

  • The Fourth Choir  
  • Petroc Trelawny   presenter
  • Samuel Barnett   presenter
  • Nicholas Chalmers   conductor
  • Séamus Rea   concept and script

Classical Pride

Digital programme

The words Classical Pride in black text, with a purple full stop and a multicoloured swirl encasing the left side of the words.
ViiV Healthcare logo
The letters GT in white, against a black background.
The words Classic FM, with the F as a red lowercase f in the style of a forte dynamic marking
Black text saying HERE AT OUTERNET in capital letters, against a white background
Logo for London Symphony Orchestra
On two squares of different shades of blue are the words Supporting Terrence Higgins Trust
Rainbow Railroad logo
The word AMPLIFUND in black capital letters, against a white background
art'otel name in black text against a white background

Classical Pride with VIIV Healthcare and GAY TIMES is also generously supported by R. Martin Chavez, Lincoln Benet, David Kaskel & Chris Teano and Lord Donoughue.

Milton Court Concert Hall

Location
Milton Court Concert Hall is located within the Guildhall School of Music and Drama and is approximately a 5 minute walk from the Barbican entrance on Silk Street.  

Address
Milton Court
Silk St, London
EC2Y 9BH

Nearby public transport
We are within walking distance from a number of London Underground stations, the closest being Barbican, Old Street, St Paul’s and Moorgate. The nearest train stations are Liverpool Street and Farringdon. Bus Route 153 runs directly past the Barbican along Chiswell Street

Car and bicycle parking
We have free bicycle spaces and paid car parking spaces available