SUSPICION, tragedy and a disappearance at sea are some of the elements of English composer Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes, coming to His Majesty’s Theatre as part of the 2010 Perth International Arts Festival.
This new production – co-presented by PIAF, West Australian Opera and the Australian Youth Orchestra – is directed by Neil Armfield, one of Australia’s biggest names in theatre. Armfield has also directed films such as 2007’s Candy with Heath Ledger and Geoffrey Rush.
Written in 1945, the opera tells the story of the fisherman title character who loses an apprentice at sea, raising the suspicions of the people of a coastal village loosely based on Alderburgh, Suffolk, where Britten lived as well as 18th century poet George Crabbe, who wrote the poem The Borough on which the opera is based.
Stepping into the role of Peter Grimes is US tenor Anthony Dean Griffey, who has received accolades worldwide for previous performances of the role.
Irish soprano Orla Boylan performs the role of Ellen Orford, one of the few villagers who doesn’t assume Grimes is guilty, and helps him find a new apprentice despite the concerns of others for the boy’s safety.
Boylan said while the subject matter was dark, the opera was uplifting in other ways.
“There is no getting away from it – it’s very dark subject matter – but you have to come and listen to the genius of Britten,” she said.
“Some of the ensemble pieces are just phenomenal.
“Although it is very black, some of the music can almost carry you out of your seat.”
Boylan said while many people were familiar with operas from earlier centuries, Peter Grimes was an acclaimed example of a modern opera.
“Operas are being written all the time but obviously a little bit less than they were two or three hundred years ago,” she said.
“You would regard it as a modern opera though it is well part of the standard repertoire by now and always has been since it was written.
“It was the first opera that Britten wrote, and probably his masterpiece and somehow I don’t think even Britten himself would say that he ever produced anything as good as he did on the first time out, as good as his later works were.”
Boylan has performed in Perth twice in recent years in For the Love of Nightingale (she received a prestigious Helpmann Award for her 2007 PIAF performance) and La Boheme, experiences that left her eager to return.
“I just love Perth, it’s like a lovely long holiday with lots of nice weather and sunshine and it couldn’t be better after coming out from the miserable weather at home,” she said.
Peter Grimes will play at His Majesty’s Theatre on February 9, 11 and 13.