Overture incorporating "God Save the King" at its climax). However, the overture "A Midsummer Night's Dream" (1826) by Felix Mendelssohn is generally regarded as the first concert overture (Temperley 2001). Mendelssohn's other contributions to this genre include his "Calm Sea and Prosperous Voyage" overture (1828), his overture "The Hebrides" (1830; also known as "Fingal's Cave") and the overtures "Die schöne Melusine" ("The Fair Melusine", 1834) and "Ruy Blas" (1839). Other notable early concert overtures were written by Hector Berlioz (e.g., "Les Francs juges" (1826), and "Le corsaire" (1828)). In the 1850s the concert overture began to be supplanted by the symphonic
A Midsummer Night's Dream (opera) Deller. Atypically for Britten, the opera did not include a leading role for his partner Pears, who instead was given the comic drag role of Flute/Thisbe. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" was first performed on 11 June 1960 at the Jubilee Hall, Aldeburgh, UK as part of the Aldeburgh Festival. Conducted by the composer, it was directed by the choreographer John Cranko. The work received wide critical approval following its early performances. Howard Taubman in his review of the Aldeburgh premiere wrote that the orchestral colors of the score conveyed a sense of "soaring illusion" that never wavered and concluded: Not