Tigers

Tigers

Testament presents the first CD release of Havergal Brian's opera The Tigers, taken from a 1983 recording made at its BBC Radio 3 studio premiere performance. Lionel Friend conducts the BBC Symphony Orchestra and BBC Singers, together with a huge cast of some of the finest British soloists of the day. The original performance was made possible by the Havergal Brian Society's rediscovery of the full score, lost since World War II, and this release is issued with the society's generous support. The first of Brian's five operas, The Tigers is set in August 1914, at the beginning of World War I. The main action chronicles the comic misadventures in training of an Army-style 'ancient regiment' called The Tigers. Issued with a full libretto, prefaces from original BBC producer Elaine Padmore and conductor Lionel Friend, and copious documentation by Havergal Brian expert Malcolm MacDonald, The Tigers is essential for any 20th Century opera or British music enthusiast.