List of compositions by Benjamin Britten

By genre

Operas

• Operetta in two acts, 114'.
• Libretto by W. H. Auden, after the American folktale.
• Premiered on at Brander Matthews Hall, New York.
• Published by Faber Music.

• Opera in a prologue and three acts, 147'.
• Libretto by Montagu Slater, after the poem The Borough by George Crabbe.
• Premiered on at Sadler's Wells, London.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Opera in two acts, 107'.
• Libretto by Ronald Duncan, after the play Le Viol de Lucrèce by André Obey.
• Premiered on at Glyndebourne.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Comic opera in three acts, 137'.
• Libretto by Eric Crozier, loosely after the short story Le Rosier de Mme. Husson by Guy de Maupassant.
• Premiered on at Glyndebourne.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Ballad opera, 108'.
• Libretto after the ballad opera by John Gay.
• Premiered on at the Cambridge Arts Theatre.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• An Entertainment for Young People, 130'.
• Libretto by Eric Crozier.
• Premiered on at Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh Festival.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Opera in four acts, 162'.
• Libretto by E. M. Forster and Eric Crozier, after the novella by Herman Melville.
• Premiered on at the Royal Opera House, London.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Opera in two acts, 158'.
• Premiered on at the Royal Opera House, London.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Opera in three acts, 148'.
• Libretto by William Plomer, after Elizabeth and Essex by Lytton Strachey.
• Premiered on at the Royal Opera House, London.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Opera in a prologue and two acts, 101'.
• Libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after the novella by Henry James.
• Premiered on at Teatro La Fenice, Venice.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Music-theatre for community performance, 50'.
• Libretto after the Chester Miracle Play as published in English Miracle Plays, Moralities and Interludes
• Premiered on at Orford Church, Aldeburgh Festival.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Opera in three acts, 144'.
• Libretto by the composer and Peter Pears, after the play by Shakespeare.
• Premiered on at Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh Festival.
• Published by Boosey & Hawkes.

• Opera for television in two acts, 106'.
• Libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after the short story by Henry James.
• Premiered on in a BBC2 TV broadcast. First staged on at the Royal Opera House, London.
• Published by Faber Music.

• Opera in two acts, 145'.
• Libretto by Myfanwy Piper, after the novella by Thomas Mann.
• Premiered on, Snape Maltings, Aldeburgh Festival.
• Published by Faber Music.

  Church parables

• Curlew River, based on a Japanese Noh play
• The Burning Fiery Furnace, after the Book of Daniel, Chapter 3
• The Prodigal Son, after the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 15

  Ballets

• Plymouth Town
• The Prince of the Pagodas

  Orchestral

• "Two Portraits" for string orchestra. No. 2 is subtitled "E.B.B" – his own initials, and thus a self-portrait. No. 3 was unrealised.
• Sinfonietta Op. 1, for five winds and five strings, revised for chamber orchestra
• Simple Symphony for string orchestra
• Soirées musicales, after Rossini
• Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra
• Mont Juic, a suite of Catalan Dances, jointly composed with Lennox Berkeley
• Canadian Carnival
• Sinfonia da Requiem
• Matinées musicales, after Rossini
• An American Overture
• Prelude and Fugue for 18 Strings
• Four Sea Interludes and Passacaglia from Peter Grimes, for orchestra
• The Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
• Occasional Overture
• Men of Goodwill – variations on a Christmas carol
• Variations on an Elizabethan Theme, jointly composed with Lennox Berkeley, Arthur Oldham, Humphrey Searle, Michael Tippett and William Walton
• Symphonic Suite from Gloriana
• Suite on English Folk Tunes, A Time There Was... for chamber orchestra

  Concertante

• Rondo Concertante for piano and strings
• Double Concerto for Violin, Viola and Orchestra. "Instrumentation...virtually 100% Britten".
• Piano Concerto
• Violin Concerto
• Young Apollo for piano, string quartet and string orchestra
• Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra
• Scottish Ballad for two pianos and orchestra
• Clarinet Concerto
• In memoriam Dennis Brain, unfinished sketch for four horns and orchestra.
• Cello Symphony

  Vocal/choral orchestral

• Quatre Chansons Françaises for soprano and orchestra
• Two Psalms for chorus and orchestra
• Our Hunting Fathers for soprano or tenor and orchestra
• The Company of Heaven for speakers, soloists, chorus and orchestra
• Ballad of Heroes, Op. 14, for tenor or soprano, chorus and orchestra
• Les Illuminations for soprano or tenor and strings
• Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings
• The Ballad of Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard for male voice choir and piano
• Saint Nicolas for tenor soloist, children's chorus, chorus, and orchestra
• Spring Symphony for soprano, contralto, and tenor soloists, mixed chorus, boys' choir and orchestra
• Nocturne for tenor, seven obbligato instruments and strings
• Cantata academica for soloists, chorus and orchestra
• War Requiem for soprano, tenor and baritone soloists, chamber ensemble, boys' chorus, mixed chorus, and orchestra
• Cantata misericordium for tenor and baritone soloists, small chorus, string quartet, string orchestra, piano, harp, timpani
• Phaedra for mezzo-soprano, cello, harpsichord, percussion, and string orchestra
• Praise we great men for soloists, chorus and orchestra
• Welcome Ode for young people's voices and orchestra

  Vocal

• Beware! Three Early Songs for voice and piano "Beware!" "O That I Had Ne’er Been Married" "Epitaph: The Clerk"
• The Birds
• On this Island for high voice and piano
• Fish in the Unruffled Lakes
• Cabaret Songs for medium voice and piano
• Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo for tenor and piano, Op. 22
• The Holy Sonnets of John Donne for tenor and piano, Op. 35
• Canticle I: My beloved is mine for tenor and piano
• A Charm of Lullabies for mezzo-soprano and piano
• Canticle II: Abraham and Isaac for alto, tenor, and piano
• for tenor, horn and piano
• Winter Words for tenor and piano, poetry by Thomas Hardy
• The Heart of the Matter for narrator, tenor, horn, and piano
• Songs from the Chinese for soprano or tenor and guitar, Op. 58
• Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente for tenor and piano, Op. 61
• Songs and Proverbs of William Blake for baritone and piano, Op. 74
• The Poet's Echo for soprano or tenor and piano, Op. 76
• Who Are These Children? for tenor and piano, Op. 84
• Canticle IV: Journey of the Magi for countertenor, tenor, baritone, and piano
• Canticle V: The Death of Saint Narcissus for tenor and harp
• A Birthday Hansel for high voice and harp
• Eight books of Folksong Arrangements from the British Isles and France, for voice and piano, guitar and harp
• Britten's Purcell Realizations, many realizations of songs by Henry Purcell for voice and piano

  Choral

• A Hymn to the Virgin for chorus and soli
• Christ's Nativity for unaccompanied chorus
• A Boy was Born for treble voices and choir
• Jubilate Deo in E flat for chorus and organ
• Te Deum in C for treble solo, chorus, trumpet, and organ
• Friday Afternoons for children's voices and piano
• Advance Democracy for unaccompanied choir
• A.M.D.G., seven settings of Gerard Manley Hopkins for unaccompanied SATB
• A Ceremony of Carols for treble voices and harp ; an alternative arrangement for mixed voices and harp is popular as well
• Hymn to St Cecilia for unaccompanied choir
• Rejoice in the Lamb for four soloists, choir, and organ
• Festival Te Deum in E for chorus and organ
• A Wedding anthem 'Amo Ergo Sum' for soprano, tenor, SATB and organ
• Five Flower Songs for SATB
• Hymn to St. Peter for treble soloist, SATB and organ
• Antiphon for SATB and organ,
• Missa Brevis for boys' voices and organ
• Jubilate Deo in C for chorus and organ
• A Hymn of St Columba for chorus and organ
• The Golden Vanity for five boy soloists, treble chorus and piano
• The Building of the House for chorus or organ or brass and orchestra
• Children's Crusade for nine boy soloists and chorus, percussion, organ and two pianos
• Sacred and Profane for SSATB

  Chamber/instrumental

Solo piano

• Five Waltzes, for piano
• Three Character Pieces, for piano
• Twelve variations on a theme, for piano
• Holiday Diary for piano
• Sonatina romantica for piano
• Night-Piece for piano
• Variations for piano

  Two pianos

• Two Lullabies for two pianos
• Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca for two pianos
• Mazurka elegiaca for two pianos

  Organ

• Prelude and Fugue on a Theme of Vittoria for organ

  String quartet

• String Quartet in F major
• Rhapsody
• Quartettino
• String Quartet in D major
• Alla Marcia
• Three Divertimenti, for string quartet : March, Waltz, Burlesque
• String Quartet No. 1 in D major
• String Quartet No. 2 in C major
• String Quartet No. 3 in G major

  Violin and piano

• Suite for Violin and Piano

  Viola and piano

• Reflections for viola and piano
• Lachrymae for viola and piano, after "If my complaints could passions move" by John Dowland; for William Primrose; 1950)
• *arranged for viola and string orchestra
• There is a willow grows aslant a brook, an arrangement of the orchestral poem by Frank Bridge. The title is taken from Shakespeare, and the arrangement by Britten is dedicated to Bridge.

  Violin, viola and piano

• Two Pieces

  Solo viola

• Etude
• Elegy

  Cello and piano

• Cello Sonata in C major

  Solo cello

• Cello Suite No. 1
• Cello Suite No. 2
• Cello Suite No. 3
• Tema "Sacher" for cello solo

  Oboe and piano

• Two Insect Pieces for oboe and piano
• Temporal Variations for oboe and piano

  Oboe and strings

• Phantasy Quartet, Op. 2, for oboe, violin, viola, and cello

  Solo oboe

• Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for solo oboe, with quotations from Ovid's poem Metamorphoses

  Flute, violin and piano 4-hands

• Gemini Variations for flute, violin, and piano four hands

  Solo timpani

• Timpani Piece for Jimmy, timpani solo for James Blades

  Three trumpets

• Fanfare for St Edmundsbury, short antiphonal and polytonal piece for three trumpets

  Guitar

• Nocturnal after John Dowland for guitar

  Harp

• Suite for Solo Harp

  Film music

• Night Mail, with words by W. H. Auden

  By opus number

• Op. 1, Sinfonietta, for five winds and five strings 1932, revised for chamber orchestra 1936
• Op. 2, Phantasy Quartet, oboe quartet, 1932
• Op. 3, A Boy was Born for mixed chorus with organ ad lib, 1933, revised 1955
• Op. 4, Simple Symphony for strings, 1934
• Op. 5, Holiday Diary for piano, 1934
• Op. 6, Suite for violin and piano, 1935
• Op. 7, Friday Afternoons for children's voices and piano, 1935
• Op. 8, Our Hunting Fathers for soprano or tenor and orchestra, 1936
• Op. 9, Soirées musicales for orchestra, 1936
• Op. 10, Variations on a Theme of Frank Bridge for string orchestra, 1937
• Op. 11, On this Island for soprano or tenor and piano, 1937
• Op. 12, Mont Juic, suite of Catalan dances, with Lennox Berkeley, 1937
• Op. 13, Piano Concerto, 1938, revised 1945
• Op. 14, Ballad of Heroes for tenor or soprano, chorus and orchestra, 1939
• Op. 15, Violin Concerto, 1939, revised 1958
• Op. 16, Young Apollo for piano and strings, 1939
• Op. 17, Paul Bunyan, opera, 1941, revised 1976
• Op. 18, Les Illuminations, for soprano or tenor and strings, 1939
• Op. 19, Canadian Carnival overture, 1939
• Op. 20, Sinfonia da Requiem, 1940
• Op. 21, Diversions for Piano Left Hand and Orchestra, 1940, revised 1954
• Op. 22, Seven Sonnets of Michelangelo for tenor and piano, 1940
• Op. 23
• * No. 1, Introduction and Rondo alla burlesca for two pianos, 1940
• * No. 2, Mazurka elegiaca for two pianos, 1941
• Op. 24, Matinées musicales for orchestra, 1941
• Op. 25, String Quartet No. 1, 1941
• Op. 26, Scottish Ballad for two pianos and orchestra, 1941
• Op. 27, Occasional Overture, 1941; retitled An American Overture when first performed, 1983
• Op. 27, Hymn to St Cecilia for SSATB, 1942
• Op. 28, A Ceremony of Carols for trebles and harp, 1942
• Op. 29, Prelude and Fugue for 18 strings, 1943
• Op. 30, Rejoice in the Lamb for soloists, chorus and organ, 1943
• Op. 31, Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings, song cycle, 1943
• Op. 32, Festival Te Deum for chorus and organ, 1945
• Op. 33, Peter Grimes, opera, 1945
• * Op. 33a, Four Sea Interludes from Peter Grimes
• * Op. 33b, Passacaglia from Peter Grimes
• Op. 34, Variations and Fugue on a Theme of Henry Purcell, 1946
• Op. 35, The Holy Sonnets of John Donne for soprano or tenor and piano, 1945
• Op. 36, String Quartet No. 2, 1945
• Op. 37, The Rape of Lucretia, opera, 1946, revised 1947
• Op. 38, Occasional Overture, 1946
• Op. 39, Albert Herring, opera, 1947
• Op. 40, My beloved is mine for soprano or tenor and piano, 1947
• Op. 41, A Charm of Lullabies for mezzo soprano and piano, 1947
• Op. 42, Saint Nicolas for soloists, chorus, strings, piano, percussion and organ, 1948
• Op. 43, The Beggar's Opera after John Gay, 1948
• Op. 44, Spring Symphony for soloists, mixed choir, children's choir and orchestra, 1949
• Op. 45, The Little Sweep, opera, 1949
• Op. 46, A Wedding anthem Amo Ergo Sum for soprano, tenor, SATB and organ, 1949
• Op. 47, Five Flower Songs for SATB, 1950
• Op. 48, Lachrymae for viola and piano, 1950
• * Op. 48a, Lachrymae for viola and strings, 1976
• Op. 49, Six Metamorphoses after Ovid for oboe, 1951
• Op. 50, Billy Budd, opera, 1951, revised 1960
• Op. 51, Abraham and Isaac for alto, tenor and piano, 1952
• Op. 52, Winter Words for soprano or tenor and piano, 1953
• Op. 53, Gloriana, opera, 1953
• * Op. 53a, Symphonic Suite "Gloriana" for tenor or oboe and orchestra, 1954
• Op. 54, The Turn of the Screw, opera, 1954
• Op. 55, ' for tenor, horn and piano, 1954
• Op. 56a, Hymn to St. Peter for treble, SATB and organ, 1955
• Op. 56b, Antiphon for SATB and organ, 1955
• Op. 57, The Prince of the Pagodas, ballet, 1956
• * Op. 57a, Pas de six from The Prince of the Pagodas
• Op. 58, Songs from the Chinese for soprano or tenor and guitar, 1957
• Op. 59, Noye's Fludde, opera, 1957
• Op. 60, Nocturne for tenor, 7 obbligato instruments and string orchestra, song cycle, 1958
• Op. 61, Sechs Hölderlin-Fragmente for voice and piano, 1958
• Op. 62, Cantata academica, 1959
• Op. 63, Missa brevis for boys' voices and organ, 1959
• Op. 64, A Midsummer Night's Dream, opera, 1960
• Op. 65, Sonata for cello and piano, 1961
• Op. 66, War Requiem, 1961
• Op. 67, Psalm CL for children's chorus and instruments, 1962
• Op. 68, Cello Symphony, 1963
• Op. 69, Cantata misericordium, 1963
• Op. 70, Nocturnal after John Dowland for guitar, 1963
• Op. 71, Curlew River, church parable, 1964
• Op. 72, Cello Suite No. 1, 1964
• Op. 73, Gemini Variations for flute, violin and piano four hands, 1965
• Op. 74, Songs and Proverbs of William Blake for baritone and piano, 1965
• Op. 75, Voices for Today for boys' voices, chorus and organ ad lib, 1965
• Op. 76, The Poet's Echo for soprano or tenor and piano, 1965
• Op. 77, The Burning Fiery Furnace, church parable, 1966
• Op. 78, The Golden Vanity for boys' voices and piano, 1966
• Op. 79, The Building of the House overture, for chorus or organ or brass and orchestra, 1967
• Op. 80, Cello Suite No. 2, 1967
• Op. 81, The Prodigal Son, church parable, 1968
• Op. 82, Children's Crusade, 1968
• Op. 83, Suite for Harp, 1969
• Op. 84, Who Are These Children? for tenor and piano, 1969
• Op. 85, Owen Wingrave, opera, 1970
• Op. 86, The Journey of the Magi for countertenor, tenor, baritone and piano, 1971
• Op. 87, Cello Suite No. 3, 1972
• Op. 88, Death in Venice, opera, 1973
• Op. 89, The Death of Saint Narcissus for tenor and harp, 1974
• Op. 90, A Suite on English Folk Tunes "A Time There Was" for chamber orchestra, 1974
• Op. 91, Sacred and Profane for five voices, 1975
• Op. 92, A Birthday Hansel for high voice and harp, 1975
• Op. 93, Phaedra, cantata, 1975
• Op. 94, String Quartet No. 3, 1975
• Op. 95', Welcome Ode'' for young people's voices and orchestra, 1976