 Britten specified that the opera should be staged in churches or large halls, not in a theatre.By the mid-1950s Britten had established himself as a major composer, both of operas and of works for mixed professional and amateur forces – his mini-opera "The Little Sweep" (1949) was written for young audiences, and used child performers.He had previously adapted text from the Chester play cycle in his 1952 "Canticle II", which retells the story of Abraham and Isaac.