QE2 to Be Celebrated with Britten's "Gloriana" for Jubilee

Her Majesty (Photo: Annie Leibovitz)

"The Royal Opera House will mark the 60th anniversary of the Queen's coronation with a new staging of Benjamin Britten's opera Gloriana, which explores the relationship between the aging Queen Elizabeth I and the Earl of Essex. The work, poorly received when it first appeared in 1953, will be directed by Richard Jones, the man behind Anna Nicole, the Royal Opera House's controversial opera about the life of celebrity Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith. The 2013 production will also mark the centenary of Britten's birth in 1913. Susan Bullock will sing the role of the 'Virgin Queen' while Toby Spence will portray the "hot-headed" Essex, the opera house said Wednesday. The opera includes a 'haunting' scene in which the queen meditates on her reign and on death." [Source]