20-28 Feb 2004. Conducted by Sir John Eliot Gardiner, directed by David Pountney, with William Towers, Susan Gritton, Julie Mellor, Matthew Beale, William Dazeley. Composed in 1960, this work is an ingenious and faithful interpretation of Shakespeares play. It is remarkable for its brilliant and witty orchestration, and for containing, in Oberon, the first operatic role written for a

modern counter-tenor.

Benjamin Brittens A Midsummer Nights Dream will go on stage at the Teatro Malibran in Venice (20-28 Feb). Britten always had a great admiration for this famous work by Shakespeare; a love that is obvious in a composition that, although entrusted to a small orchestra, manages to characterise with great sensitivity the different narrative threads of the story. Its a love that also shines through in the libretto, which is faithful to the original text and in which the outstanding characters are those of Oberon, unquestionably the star of this version, and Puck, interpreted by a singer-acrobat who never stops moving. The conductor will be Sir John Eliot Gardiner, who doesnt appear very often in Italy but who is appreciated abroad for his scrupulous interpretations. The director will be David Pountney, who last year directed a minimalist and stylised Ktya Kabanov by Leos Jancek in Venice. Paolo Di Nicola