Britten’s first major success, and still his most frequently produced opera, Peter Grimes explosively combines almost all the themes of his work - and life. The sea is everywhere, and the drama, the cold and the human fear of water. It’s all about the alienation of an outsider, the violence of a hostile society, the corruption of innocence, but also wonder at nature, trust and human love. And those themes drive and colour the music. It's a total contrast to Noye's Fludde of course. The children here are mute victims of adult society; missing in this piece are the sweet fun and warm, musical sounds of play. The other side of Britten.
(The brilliant photo below is from ClassicalMusic. com.)
First performed at Sadler's Wells in London on 7 June 1945, the opera was immediately performed internationally. Wiki quotes the opera administrator Lord Harewood calling it "the first genuinely successful British opera, Gilbert and Sullivan apart, since Purcell." It was taken to Aldeburgh, where it is set, in later years, famously performed on the beach for the centenary celebrations of Britten’s birth. Watch the trailer here.
The story
The introductions to Britten’s opera all record that he read the poems of George Crabbe when in the US with Peter Pears, and was struck by the story of Peter Grimes in one of Crabbe’s collections of English sagas, The Borough. There’s an interesting piece about Crabbe here. What those introductions don’t say is that Crabbe’s poem was far more ghastly and ghostly than anything Britten conceived. The poem relentlessly hammers in heavy couplets the evil, doomed character and his dreadful life and death. Read it in full here.
From Crabbe, Britten took a tale of a lone fisherman misusing apprentices and facing disgrace at their deaths, and the confronting anger of the society he was excluded from. But Britten’s account is sensitive and suggestive, putting to piercing music the loneliness and anger of an isolated outsider, and the stifling collective morality of an isolated coastal community. His libretto and his haunting music leave the questions of Grimes’ motivation and guilt unresolved.
There's an illustrated brief story of the opera here.
And Bernard also discovered a detailed piece on OPERA 101 - discussion with extracts from the BBC film and the Vickers performance.
Thanks to Bernard for these suggested links. The lecture 'offers a scholarly analysis 45 minutes, then questions. Some use of basic musical theory terminology' and playing of some of the most wonderful music.
Playing this part
Britten and Peter Pears created a version of the story as they returned from the US that left it open to readings about isolation and condemnation – and relating to their experience as a homosexuals and conscientious objectors. Wiki has a detailed account of the evolution of this opera – and of the synopsis of the final version.
The role of Grimes became a tenor role, but perhaps more than any leading role in opera, up to the tenor to create the character. Peter Pears held the role for some years, and with Pears, in his sweet tenor, the character was portrayed as torn and troubled, but not evil, even a sympathetic character. The formidable and outspoken Canadian tenor Jon Vickers, (who sings the part in the ROH performance we first play in our meetings) created a Grimes much nearer to Crabbe's character. Read more about the contrast here – with clips to illustrate it!
In an obituary, NYTimes recorded Vickers’ attitudes.
Britten described the opera as depicting the struggle of an individual against the masses. But many see Grimes’s persecution as a metaphor for the oppression of homosexuals. Mr. Vickers, who was, as many of his colleagues recounted, quite homophobic, could not abide such an interpretation. For him “Peter Grimes” was a study in the “psychology of human rejection”...
With his powerful heldentenor voice, Mr. Vickers revealed the danger within the twisted psyche of the ostracized fisherman. His Grimes was one moment lost in reverie, the next exploding with brutality. His bleakly poignant portrayal and fearsome singing altered the public perception of the role. Though they did not like to voice their attitudes publicly, Britten and Pears were dismayed by Mr. Vickers’ Grimes. But they could not argue with success. Companies around the world mounted productions of “Peter Grimes” for Mr. Vickers.
There’s an interview here with Vickers, saying twice about the role that “Ben and Peter held it too close to their eye and they blotted out the universe.”
And now the new star Grimes is Alan Clayton – remember his Saul and his Jupiter in Semele? From Handel to Britten… And his starring role in Brett Dean’s Hamlet... Glowing review of the new ROH production here. Guardian review here. It is being recorded for streaming at a future date. There's an analysis of the production with commentary and singing from the brilliant cast here.
Watch Peter Grimes full opera
The BBC film of the 1969 production with Peter Pears is on YouTube in full here. Heather Harper sings Ellen.