Britten's new children's opera, a setting of the Chester Miracle Play, was completed in December 1957 and received its first performance at this year's Aldeburgh Festival on the 18th June at Orford Church with a local ‘chorus of animals’ and an East Suffolk Childrens' Orchestra. The opera will shortly be available for performance—and it will surely receive many performances—to musicians capable of raising these modest forces in sufficient size and obtaining the services of the small number of professionals required. County Music Organizers in particular are in the fortunate position of being able to draw upon these forces, and it is very much to be hoped that they will not be slow in realizing the unique opportunity which Britten's opera affords them. From the practical performance point of view, Noyes Fludde differs from The Little Sweep in that it calls for a large number of children—a chorus of animals from the Primary Schools (the number limited only by the size of the Ark); and a young persons' ripieno orchestra of strings, recorders and percussion (at Aldeburgh this numbered twenty violins, three violas, six 'cellos, two double basses, eight descant recorders, five treble recorders, a percussion section of eight and a team of six handbells) together with bugles. The concertino instrumental group comprises a string quintet (each player representing one of the five normal departments of the customary string orchestra), recorder, percussion and piano duet.