Wanna tell the whole Wagner/Verdi 2013 bicentennial onslaught to suck it? Then head to the Suffolk Coast this summer for the 66th edition of Benjamin Britten's Aldeburgh Festival.
On June 7, Britten's centenary will commence with sixteen days of concerts and performances, like Peter Grimes and the complete Church Parables across Snape Maltings and Aldeburgh beach. Over 20 new works by composers such as Harrison Birtwistle and Magnus Lindberg, which have been commissioned by the Britten-Pears Foundation and the Royal Philharmonic Society, will premiere.
The festival will also celebrate works by Jonathan Harvey and Elliott Carter and includes performances by Ian Bostridge, Mark Padmore and Christian Zacharias. You can also get Britten swank like an iPhone cover.
Tease yourself with the awesome "A Time There Was...A Profile of Benjamin Britten" documentary (above) that includes rehearsals with the Maestro ("Don't let it flower into a Tosca-like sound"), interviews with Britten's siblings, the opening of the hall in 1967 by the Queen and vignettes from his personal life, like the photo below.