Shakespeare
Other operas based on plays by Shakespeare:
Otello (Othello) - Giuseppe Verdi
Anthony and Cleopatra - Samuel Barber
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Benjamin Britten
Information about the opera A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten, and the best recordings available on CD or DVD, or for download.
Recommended recordings on CD
Hickox/Bowman/Watson (Virgin Classics VCD7 59305-2)
The best of the modern recordings.
Trinity Boys Choir, City of London Sinfonia, conducted by Richard Hickox, 1993.
Cast: James Bowman (Oberon), Lillian Watson (Tytania), Dexter Fletcher (Puck), Norman Bailey (Theseus), Penelope Walker (Hippolyta).
Virgin Classics VCD7 59305-2
Britten/Deller/Harwood (Decca 425 663-2)
The original recording, and still in many ways the best.
Choirs of Downside and Emanuel Schools, London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Benjamin Britten, 1966.
Cast: Alfred Deller (Oberon), Elizabeth Harwood (Tytania), Stephen Terry (Puck), John Shirley-Quirk (Theseus), Helen Watts (Hippolyta), Sir Peter Pears (Lysander), Thomas Hemsley (Demetrius).
Decca 425 663-2
Also included in the boxed set:
Britten Operas 2