Interludes and Aria from “Lessons in Love and Violence” (2024) is a 15-minute orchestral suite with soprano, drawn from George Benjamin and Martin Crimp’s acclaimed 2018 opera. Premiered by Sir Simon Rattle, Barbara Hannigan, and the London Symphony Orchestra, this concert version presents seven movements of vivid musical drama.
At its centre is Queen Isabel’s haunting aria, in which she dissolves a priceless treasure in vinegar before her starving people – a scene of devastating poignancy and theatrical power. The instrumental episodes include an explosive toccata, a sombre nocturne punctuated by tolling gongs, and a chorale that builds into a blazing orchestral conflagration.
Benjamin’s mastery of orchestral colour, enriched by the otherworldly timbre of the cimbalom, gives the score a striking character that combines the ravishing and the visceral. Critics have hailed it as moody, flamboyantly orchestrated, and charged with a tension that erupts with volcanic force – a dazzling addition to Benjamin’s output and to contemporary orchestral repertoire.
| Arrangement | Opera, Orchestra, Soprano, Voice, Voice: Soprano |
| Format | Vocal Score |
| NumberOfPages | 96 |
| Media | Sheet Music |
| Publisher | Faber Music |
| Language | English |
| ISMN | 9780571543489 |