Introduction Mervyn Cooke; Part I. Apprenticeship: 1. Juvenilia (1922-1932) Christopher Mark; 2. Britten, Auden and 'Otherness' Paul Kildea; 3. Britten in the cinema: 'Coal Face' Philip Reed; Part II. The Operas: 4. 'He Descended into Hell': Peter Grimes, Ellen Orford and Salvation Denied Stephen Arthur Allen; 5. The chamber operas Arnold Whittall; 6. 'Gloriana': Britten's 'Slighted Child' Antonia Malloy-Chirgwin; 7. Britten and Shakespeare: 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' Mervyn Cooke; 8. Eros in life and death: 'Billy Budd' and 'Death in Venice' Clifford Hindley; Part III. Perspectives: 9. Distant horizons : from Pagodaland to the Church Parables Mervyn Cooke; 10. Violent climates Donald Mitchell; 11. Britten as symphonist Arved Ashby; 12. The concertos and early orchestral scores: aspects of style and aesthetic Eric Roseberry; 13. The chamber music Philip Rupprecht; 14. Music for voices Ralph Woodward; Part IV. The Composer in the Community: 15. Britten and the world of the child Stephen Arthur Allen; 16. Old songs in new contexts: Britten as arranger Eric Roseberry; 17. Aldeburgh Judith LeGrove.