The Five Canticles of Benjamin Britten

The Five Canticles of Benjamin Britten

In May of 2024, Alphonse van Woerkom created a series of drawings to accompany a multimedia performance of The Five Canticles of Benjamin Britten. This production was created by Daveed Buzaglo and was co-produced by City Lyric Opera, Music at Co-Cath and was presented at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph in Prospect Heights, New York. The production encompassed music, visual arts, choreography, film, projection, and theatrical stagings, all inspired by the music of Benjamin Britten.

Jezus Christ The Apple Tree

Based on “Jesus Christ the Apple Tree” by Elizabeth Poston

Canticle I “My beloved is mine and I am his”

Based on the text “My beloved is mine and I am his” by Francis Quarles

“Where in a greater current, they conjoin…”

“My Beloved is Mine and I His”

“Forbidden Love”

Canticle II “Abraham and Isaac”

“Come with me”

Canticle III: “Still Falls the Rain”

Based on the poem “Still Falls the Rain” by Edith Sitwell

Canticle IV “The Journey of the Magi”

Based on the text “Journey of the Magi” by T.S. Eliot

“The Journey of the Magi”

“In with the new, out with the old”

Canticle V “The Death of St. Narcissus”

Based on the text “The Death of St. Narcissus” by T.S. Eliot

Production Photos