Phaedra (cantata)

Phaedra, Op. 93, is a cantata for mezzo-soprano and small orchestra by Benjamin Britten, written for Janet Baker.^[1]

History

Phaedra was the composer's last vocal work, written in 1975 and first performed by Dame Janet Baker at the Aldeburgh Festival on 16 June 1976.^[2] Britten assembled the libretto from parts of a translation of Racine's Phèdre by Robert Lowell.^[3] Stylistically, it draws from the Baroque cantata tradition and features the harpsichord, for which there are some noteworthy passages.^[4]