Gloriana came into being when Benjamin Britten was asked to compose an opera to celebrate the Coronation of HRH Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. He took as his starting point Lytton Strachey’s Elizabeth and Essex, which had much interested him when he first read it. He had at once seen in it the possibility of an operatic theme and the Coronation provided the right occasion for him to return to it. The tragic relationship between the ageing Queen and the brilliant young Earl of Essex provided Britten with great scope for his strong sense of theatre and this opera combines scenes of great pageantry with moments of private reflection. This contrast vividly depicts Queen Elizabeth’s dilemma – the conflict of duty and personal love. The opera traces the downfall of the Earl of Essex who, presuming upon his privilege as the Queen’s favourite, forces a tragedy upon them both. Elizabeth I never forgot that she as the Queen and that, as a woman, she had to show that she could rule with no less authority and decision than a man, so she felt compelled to sentence Essex to death when he failed her and endangered the country.
