Elizabeth Sweeting: The Best and Happiest Days - by Philip Reed & Justin Vickers (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Britten invited Elizabeth Sweeting (1914-1999) to be the General Manager of the Aldeburgh Festival after observing her organisational skills for the English Opera Group. She worked closely with Britten and Peter Pears, administering all aspects of the first eight Aldeburgh Festivals - from booking artists to tearing ticket stubs - beginning with the inaugural festival in 1948.

She was to become one of the most significant facilitators in the performing arts in the post-war era, and a pioneering figure in the new profession of arts administrator. Her tenure as Manager of the Oxford Playhouse in the 1960s and 1970s was followed by five years as Director of the Arts Council of South Australia. Her inspirational guide, Theatre Administration (1969), was a vital handbook for those following her.

Sweeting's honest and lively memoir of her Aldeburgh years, written in the mid-1980s and here published complete for the first time, offers an insider's account of what those early festivals were like - charting both their highs and their lows. Also included is most of the extant correspondence between Sweeting and Britten and Pears. Beginning in 1948, it extends from her time working at Aldeburgh through to her Oxford years and her period in Australia.

The editors provide a contextualising introduction and detailed annotations throughout.

Elizabeth Sweeting: The Best and Happiest Days is an essential volume for anyone interested in Britten, Pears and the Aldeburgh Festival.