‘Britten has packed his most skillful craftsmanship into Owen Wingrave.  He uses a handful of musical techniques; among them, a percussive motif representing the military tradition of the Wingrave family, and a sequence of plain chords that recall Billy Budd for the pacifist beliefs of Owen himself.’
The Financial Times (Gillian Widdicombe)
 
‘One needs hardly emphasise how many threads from the deepest of Britten’s preoccupations, formulated in wholly characteristic dramatic and musical images, are drawn together as the opera moves to its ironic close.  These are major preoccupations and this is a major theatrical work, in which they are again pressed home with consummate art.’
The Listener (Donald Mitchell)

‘…Owen Wingrave comes across as swifter and meatier than before – in no small part due to a new chamber orchestration by David Matthews, one of Britten’s former assistants.  Matthews’s version is actually an improvement on the original because we hear all the essentials of the instrumental score in better profile, while being able to hear every word…’
Financial Times (Andrew Clark)

‘Richocheting brass and clattering timpani delineated both Owen’s struggle and the forces of reaction that hem him in,while sensual strings and the sound of Britten’s beloved gamelan conveyed the vision of peace that drives Owen on.’
The Guardian (Tim Ashley)

‘…a new reduced orchestration by David Matthews which sounded perfectly effective in a small theatre such as the Linbury Studio.  Rory MacDonald conducted the members of the City of London Sinfonia with flair, and Britten would have been delighted at the ease with which the singers communicated the text over the orchestra – without benefit of surtitles.'
The Daily Telegraph (Rupert Christiansen)

Synopsis
At Coyle’s cramming establishment in London, Owen and his friend Lechmere are learning the strategy of battle.  At the end of the lesson, Owen declares that he cannot go through with a military career.  Coyle is angry but agrees to break the news to the Wingrave family for whom soldiering has been a way of life for decades.  At their haunted country house, Paramore, Owen is rounded on by his aunt and Miss Wingrave, his fiancée Kate Julian and her mother.  The elderly head of the family, Sir Philip Wingrave, who fought at Bhurtpore, is similarly outraged.  In the Prologue to Act Two, a ballad singer narrates the tale of the young Wingrave boy killed by his brutal father for refusing to fight over an argument with a friend.  Sir Philip disowns Owen, depriving him of his inheritance.  Kate humiliates Owen by flirting with Lechmere.  After everyone has gone to bed, Owen, left alone, reflects on his predicament and reaffirms his passionate belief in peace.  Kate comes looking for him.  She taunts him with cowardice and dares him to sleep in the haunted room.  Owen agrees and Kate locks him in.  Lechmere is concerned for Owen’s welfare and alerts Coyle.  Kate is heard sobbing from the doorway of the haunted room.  The family rush to the scene.  Sir Philip pushes the door open to find Owen dead on the floor.  The ballad singer’s voice is heard once more.