Barbican: Classical Pride

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.