Britten Sinfonia, Britten Sinfonia Voices, Ian Bostridge, Gwynne Howell, Neal Davies, Peter Coleman-Wright

When Benjamin Britten first experienced the strange rituals of a Noh play, his reaction was to collapse in giggles. But he soon saw the dramatic and musical potential of this very distinct form of Japanese drama, and he used its clipped ceremony and masked interplay for his monastic East Anglian drama Curlew River – a piece shot through with the strange, exotic sounds of bells, untuned drums, organ and chamber ensemble.

For John Bridcut, curator of the Barbican's Britten study day, Curlew River is a 'once heard never forgotten' work. Ian Bostridge joins a specialist cast, the Britten Sinfonia and director Neita Jones for a new look at one of Britten's most fascinating creations.