Claire Seymour examines ways in which Britten’s operas explored and articulated the inherent ambiguity and latent sexuality of music, particularly song, and suggests that they may illustrate his search for a public voice which would embody, communicate, and perhaps resolve his private beliefs and anxieties. She demonstrates how the delicate balance between private and public communication, and the tension between art as self-expression and art as moral resolution were key concerns in Britten’s music.

Analyses of Britten’s operas from Paul Bunyan to Death in Venice, the three Church Parables, and several of the children’s operas offer evidence that, for Britten, opera was the natural medium through which to explore, express and, paradoxically, repress his private concerns.