For once, I felt that the hype surrounding a new production was well deserved: David Alden’s Peter Grimes (for English National Opera) was a superlative production in so many ways and lived up to my expectations for this, the most iconic of all Britten's operas. Paul Steinberg’s austere set provided the perfect canvas for this bleak tale of xenophobia and hypocrisy although the sloping stage was not without its challenges. For example, on one occasion it looked as though Ellen was accidentally going to propel young John into the orchestra pit as she sent him hurtling down the slope! No wonder the double-bass section looked worried. The panoramic seascape, the backdrop for much of the action, was a work of art in itself, perfectly capturing a sense of the gathering storm, and the sloping stage added to the feeling of a community out of balance, sliding inexorably towards paranoia. In the penultimate scene, Grimes’ cottage precariously clinging to the cliff-edge, provides a very obvious metaphor for the way in which Grimes himself is clinging to his sanity. The tall buildings, which for most of the opera framed the action, provided a claustrophobic atmosphere from which the only and ultimate escape was the cruel sea that lay beyond.
Of course Britten’s Peter Grimes (set to Montagu Slater’s libretto and based on George Crabbe’s poem The Borough) is a depressing and dark tale of human failing, but the music alternately sparkles like the shimmering sea, or lashes you like a force ten gale! Superb though the libretto is, it is the music that really tells the story and the orchestra (under Edward Gardner) was on fine form, deservedly gaining a huge ovation at the end of the performance. I kept recalling verses from John Masefield’s Sea Fever as I was listening to the Sea Interludes (the musical passages that describe the sea’s changing state and are in some sense, entr'actes). It was a relief to enjoy the Interludes without any distractions on stage – altogether a much more liberating experience for the imagination than being presented with a director’s interpretation. Good decision Mr Alden! The large chorus of villagers inundated The Borough like a malevolent and unpredictable sea, one moment calm and pious and in the next, brooding, and intimidating. Their sheer numbers and anonymity seemed to generate disturbing undercurrents as they ebbed and flowed around Steinberg’s unsettling set.
I was expecting to see Stuart Skelton in the title role and was slightly disappointed to discover that on the night of this performance (30 May) the role was being sung by John Daszak. My disappointment was short-lived however as Daszak made an excellent Grimes, singing with great passion and integrity, particularly in the difficult a capella passages. Despite the character’s obvious flaws, it was hard not to feel considerable sympathy for Grimes who at times seemed imbued with an almost child-like quality. Although the libretto encourages sympathy, it was Daszak’s performance and Alden’s direction that delivered it.
Having missed Amanda Roocroft on a number of occasions recently due to illness (hers, not mine!) I was delighted that she was in dazzling form as the widow Ellen Orford, and if I needed a reminder about why I am such a fan of her luscious voice, then this was it. Frankly, her performance alone justified the ticket price. (The same cannot be said of the extortionately priced refreshments at The Coliseum!)
Gerald Finley’s Captain Balstrode was masterfully convincing and sung with such precision and clarity that even in this magnificent company, his diction stood out. Rebecca de Pont Davies as Auntie sang and played the part well enough but I felt she was a poor casting choice for the role which I feel demands a more mature and rather more earthy performer. Auntie’s “nieces” were portrayed in a rather quirky detached way that didn’t seem altogether coherent – on the one hand they were the worldly-wise “main attractions” at The Boar Inn and then curiously “innocent” school girls. Perhaps Alden was making the point that nothing is what it seems in The Borough? If the ambiguity here was somewhat unhelpful, it was welcome elsewhere: Alden neatly preserved a degree of ambiguity concerning Grimes and the audience is left judge Grimes for itself in much the same way that the people of The Borough do. And after all, Britten’s masterpiece is all about judgement and the closed minds that set Grimes against humanity.
