Let's Make an Opera [Alf:99-102107]

Throughout his compositional work, Benjamin Britten did his part to support young people in their musical education---one has only to think, for example, of works such as The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra: Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell, Op. 34, written in 1945. His "Entertainment for Young People" written in 1949 and entitled Let's Make an Opera, Op. 45, is another example of this didactic approach to composition, although its goals lie beyond simply encouraging children and young people to discover the world of opera. Let's Make an Opera is also a morality tale that condemns the abuse of children, particularly those suffering social deprivation---represented in this instance by Sam, an apprentice chimney sweep.