Eric Bentley

Opera singer Peter Brathwaite shares his passion for five very different singers whose voices, artistry and lives inspire and move him, and whose stories he needs to tell.

Tonight we take an unexpected turn, moving away from the world of opera and world-renowned singers into more modest, but no less impactful, territory. Eric Bentley was a renowned theatre critic and writer, but he also performed cabaret songs, especially those of his friends Bertolt Brecht and Hanns Eisler. Peter explains why Bentley's untrained but completely committed voice has always captivated him, a fellow Lancastrian, and uncovers the profound effect Bentley's work has had on his own career.