   #copyright

Peter Grimes

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Poetry & Opera

      Operas by Benjamin Britten

   Paul Bunyan (1941)
   Peter Grimes (1945)
   The Rape of Lucretia (1946)
   Albert Herring (1947)
   Billy Budd (1951)
   Gloriana (1953)
   The Turn of the Screw (1954)
   Noye's Fludde (1958)
   A Midsummer Night's Dream (1960)
   Curlew River (1964)
   The Burning Fiery Furnace (1966)
   The Prodigal Son (1968)
   Owen Wingrave (1971)
   Death in Venice (1973)

   Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted
   by Montagu Slater from the Peter Grimes section of George Crabbe's poem
   The Borough.

   It was first performed at Sadler's Wells in London on June 7, 1945,
   conducted by Reginald Goodall. It was the first of Britten's operas to
   be a critical and popular success. It is still widely performed, both
   in the UK and internationally and is considered part of the standard
   repertoire. In addition, the "Four Sea Interludes" were published
   separately and are frequently performed as an orchestral suite.

Roles

                     Character                    Voice part    Original cast
   Peter Grimes, a fisherman                     tenor         Peter Pears
   Ellen Orford, a widow, Borough schoolmistress soprano       Joan Cross
   Auntie, landlady of The Boar                  contralto     Edith Coates
   Niece 1                                       soprano       Blanche Turner
   Niece 2                                       soprano       Minnia Bower
   Balstrode, retired merchant skipper           baritone      Roderick Jones
   Mrs. (Nabob) Sedley, a rentier widow          mezzo-soprano Valetta Iacopi
   Swallow, a lawyer                             bass          Owen Brannigan
   Ned Keene, apothecary and quack               baritone      Edmund Donlevy
   Bob Boles, fisherman and Methodist            tenor         Morgan Jones
   Rev. Horace Adams, the rector                 tenor         Tom Culbert
   Hobson, the carrier                           bass          Frank Vaughan
   John, Grimes' apprentice                      silent role   Leonard Thompson

History

   Britten and his partner Peter Pears read the poem by Crabbe and were
   struck by it. They both had a strong hand in drafting the story, and in
   this process the character of Grimes became far more complex. Rather
   than being the clear-cut villain he is in Crabbe's version, he became a
   victim of both cruel fate and society, while retaining darker aspects
   in his character. It is left to the audience to decide which version is
   more true, and to see how clear-cut or ambiguous the various characters
   are.

   Pears was certainly the intended Peter Grimes, and it is likely that
   Britten wrote the role of Ellen Orford for Joan Cross. The work has
   been called "a powerful allegory of homosexual oppression," but the
   composer's own summation of the work was simpler: "a subject very close
   to my heart—the struggle of the individual against the masses. The more
   vicious the society, the more vicious the individual" (from a 1948
   interview to Time magazine).

   Though in the original version of the libretto Grimes' relations with
   the boys were clearly pederastic, Pears persuaded Slater to cut out
   most of the pederasty from the final version. The opera was
   commissioned by the Koussevitzky Music Foundation and is "dedicated to
   the memory of Natalie Koussevitzky", wife of the Russian-born American
   conductor Serge Koussevitzky.

Setting

   The "Borough," a fictional village, which shares some similarities with
   Crabbe's, and later Britten's, own home Aldeburgh, on England's east
   coast, around 1830.

Synopsis

Prologue

   Peter Grimes is questioned at an inquest over the death of his
   apprentice. The townsfolk, all present, make it clear they think Grimes
   guilty and deserving of punishment. Although the coroner, Mr. Swallow,
   determines the boy's death to be accidental and clears Grimes without a
   proper trial, he advises Grimes not to get another apprentice. As the
   court is cleared, Ellen Orford, the schoolmistress, attempts to comfort
   Grimes as he rages against what he sees as the Borough community's
   unwillingness to give him a true second chance.

Act I

   The chorus, who constitute "the Borough," sing of their weary daily
   round and their relationship with the sea and the seasons. Grimes
   claims to be in desperate need of help to fish, and his friend, the
   apothecary Ned Keene, finds him a new apprentice from the workhouse.
   Nobody will volunteer to fetch the boy, until Ellen (whom Grimes wishes
   to marry) offers.

   When Ellen brings the apprentice to Grimes at the pub that evening, he
   immediately sets off to his hut, despite the fact that the Borough is
   weathering an ominous storm.

Act II

   On Sunday morning while most of the Borough is at church, Ellen talks
   with John, the apprentice. She is horrified when she finds a bruise on
   his neck. When she confronts Grimes about it, he brusquely claims that
   it was an accident. Growing agitated at her mounting concern and
   interference, he strikes her and runs off with the boy. This did not go
   unseen: first Keene, Auntie, and Bob Boles, then the chorus generally
   evolve into a mob to investigate Grimes's hut. As the men march off,
   Ellen, Auntie, and the nieces sing sadly of the relationship of women
   with men.

   At the hut, Grimes accuses the, as always, silent John of "telling
   stories" then becomes lost in his memories of the dead apprentice,
   reliving the boy's death of thirst. When he hears the mob of villagers
   approaching he quickly comes back to reality and gets ready to set out
   to sea: he tells John to be careful climbing down to his boat, but to
   no avail: the boy falls to his death. When the mob reaches the hut
   Grimes is gone, and they find nothing out of order, so disperse.

Act III

   Nighttime in the Borough. While a dance is going on, Mrs. Sedley tries
   to convince the authorities that Grimes is a murderer, but to no avail.
   Ellen and Captain Balstrode confide in each other: Grimes has returned
   after many days at sea, and Balstrode has discovered a jersey washed
   ashore: a jersey that Ellen recognizes as one she had knitted for John.
   Mrs. Sedley overhears this, and with the knowledge that Grimes has
   returned, she is able to instigate another mob. Singing "Him who
   despises us we'll destroy," the villagers go off in search of Grimes.

   While the chorus can be heard searching for him, Grimes appears
   onstage, singing a long monologue: John's death has seemingly pushed
   Grimes, already dangerously unstable, over the edge. Ellen and
   Balstrode find him, and the old captain encourages Grimes to take his
   boat out to sea and sink it. Grimes leaves. The next morning, the
   Borough begins its day anew. There is a report from the coast guard of
   a ship sinking off the coast. This is dismissed by Auntie as "one of
   these rumours."

Discography and videography

   In 1958, Britten led the first complete commercial recording of Peter
   Grimes for Decca, featuring Peter Pears (Peter Grimes), Claire Watson
   (Ellen Orford), James Pease (Balstrode), Jean Watson (Auntie), Geraint
   Evans (Ned Keene), Lauris Elms (Mrs Sedley), Owen Brannigan (Swallow),
   Raymond Nilsson (Bob Boles), Marion Studholme (First Niece), Iris Kells
   (Second Niece), Marcus Norman (John, the apprentice), John Lanigan (Rev
   Horace Adams), and David Kelly (Hobson). The composer himself conducted
   the Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.

   Other commercial recordings include these, with conductors and selected
   cast members:
     * Philips: Sir Colin Davis, conductor; Jon Vickers (Peter Grimes),
       Heather Harper (Ellen Orford), Jonathan Summers (Balstrode),
       Elizabeth Bainbridge (Auntie), Thomas Allen (Ned Keene), Patricia
       Payne (Mrs Sedley), John Dobson (Bob Boles), Forbes Robinson
       (Swallow), Teresa Cahill (First Niece), Anne Pashley (Second
       Niece), John Lanigan (Rev Horace Adams), Richard van Allan
       (Hobson); Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent
       Garden.
     * EMI Classics: Bernard Haitink, conductor; Anthony Rolfe Johnson
       (Peter Grimes), Felicity Lott (Ellen Orford), Thomas Allen
       (Balstrode), Sarah Walker (Mrs Sedley), Patricia Payne (Auntie),
       Maria Bovino and Gillian Webster (Nieces), Simon Keenlyside (Ned
       Keene), Stafford Dean (Swallow), Stuart Kale (Bob Boles), Neil
       Jenkins (Rev Horace Adams), David Wilson-Johnson (Hobson);
       Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
     * Chandos: Richard Hickox, conductor; Philip Langridge (Peter
       Grimes), Janice Watson (Ellen Orford), Alan Opie (Balstrode),
       Roderick Williams (Ned Keene); City of London Sinfonia, London
       Symphony Chorus, and Opera London
     * LSO Live: Sir Colin Davis, conductor; Glenn Winslade (Peter
       Grimes), Janice Watson (Ellen Orford), Anthony Michaels-Moore
       (Balstrode), Jill Grove (Auntie), Nathan Gunn (Ned Keene),
       Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Mrs Sedley), James Rutherford (Swallow),
       Christopher Gillett (Bob Boles), Sally Matthews (First Niece),
       Alison Buchanan (Second Niece), Ryland Davies (Rev Horace Adams),
       Jonathan Lemalu (Hobson); London Symphony Orchestra and London
       Symphony Chorus

   A historical recording of Reginald Goodall conducting Peter Pears and
   Joan Cross in excerpts has also been issued.

   Two video recordings of Peter Grimes have been produced:
     * Kultur (1981): Sir Colin Davis, conductor; Jon Vickers (Peter
       Grimes), Heather Harper (Ellen Orford), Norman Bailey (Balstrode);
       Orchestra and Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
     * Kulture (1994): David Atherton, conductor; Philip Langridge (Peter
       Grimes), Janice Cairns (Ellen Orford), Alan Opie (Balstrode), Ann
       Howard (Auntie); Orchestra and Chorus of English National Opera

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Grimes"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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