Britten, Benjamin: Peter Grimes op. 33 (1945) 147'
Opera in three acts and a prologue
Music Text
Libretto by Montagu Slater, derived from a poem by George Crabbe (E,Bg,Cz,Dn,F,Fl,Fn,G,H,I,J,P,Sc)
Scoring
Major roles: S,A,T,Bar; minor roles: 2S,M,2T,Bar,2B,2mimes; chorus 2(=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=Ebcl).2.dbn-4.2.Dtpt.3.1-timp.perc(2):SD/TD/ BD/tamb/tgl/cyms/gong/whip/xyl/rattle-cel-harp-strings Off-stage:organ-bells-tuba* Dance band on-stage*:2cl-perc:cym/SD/BD-pft(ad lib)-vln.db (*taken from the orchestra)
For full details on this stagework, including synopsis and roles, please visit our Opera section.
World Premiere
6/7/1945
Sadler's Wells, London
Eric Crozier, director / Sadler's Wells Opera / Reginald Goodall
Repertoire Note
In 1942, Britten, then living in America, came across an article by the novelist E.M.Forster on the Suffolk poet George Crabbe, an encounter that was a decisive factor in Britten’s resolve to return to England for good. It was Crabbe’s poem ‘The Borough’ which subsequently served as the basis for Britten’s first full-scale opera, Peter Grimes, the work that launched him internationally as the leading British composer of his generation and which almost single-handedly effected the renaissance of English opera.
The composer’s self-avowed aim in the opera was ‘to express my awareness of the perpetual struggle of men and women whose livelihood depends on the sea’ and anyone who has visited the coastline around the composer’s home town of Aldeburgh will recognize the uncanny certainty with which Britten has captured that land- and seascape in Peter Grimes. Perhaps more importantly, the opera also introduces many of the fundamental dramatic themes which characterise Britten’s entire operatic output: the individual against the mass, and the corruption of innocence.
Reproduced by kind permission of the Britten-Pears Library
Items on Sale
Recommended Recording
Philip Langridge/Janice Watson/Alan Opie/Ameral Gunson/John Graham-Hall/John Connell/Anne Collins/City of London Sinfonia/London Symphony Chorus/Richard Hickox
Chandos CHAN 94478
Click here to purchase this CD set from our online shop
Philip Langridge / Janice Cairns / Chorus and Orchestra of the English National Opera / David Atherton, cond
Arthaus Musik DVD PAL 100 382
Click here to purchase this DVD from our online shop
Peter Pears/Claire Watson/Owen Brannigan/Jean Watson/Geraint Evans/John Lanigan/Covent Garden Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus/Benjamin Britten
Decca 4145772
Click here to purchase this CD set from Amazon
News stories for this title :
Peter Pears on historic Britten DVDs of Grimes and Budd
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Britten meets computer games technology
Opera in three acts and a prologue
Music Text
Libretto by Montagu Slater, derived from a poem by George Crabbe (E,Bg,Cz,Dn,F,Fl,Fn,G,H,I,J,P,Sc)
Scoring
Major roles: S,A,T,Bar; minor roles: 2S,M,2T,Bar,2B,2mimes; chorus 2(=picc).2(II=corA).2(II=Ebcl).2.dbn-4.2.Dtpt.3.1-timp.perc(2):SD/TD/ BD/tamb/tgl/cyms/gong/whip/xyl/rattle-cel-harp-strings Off-stage:organ-bells-tuba* Dance band on-stage*:2cl-perc:cym/SD/BD-pft(ad lib)-vln.db (*taken from the orchestra)
For full details on this stagework, including synopsis and roles, please visit our Opera section.
World Premiere
6/7/1945
Sadler's Wells, London
Eric Crozier, director / Sadler's Wells Opera / Reginald Goodall
Repertoire Note
In 1942, Britten, then living in America, came across an article by the novelist E.M.Forster on the Suffolk poet George Crabbe, an encounter that was a decisive factor in Britten’s resolve to return to England for good. It was Crabbe’s poem ‘The Borough’ which subsequently served as the basis for Britten’s first full-scale opera, Peter Grimes, the work that launched him internationally as the leading British composer of his generation and which almost single-handedly effected the renaissance of English opera.
The composer’s self-avowed aim in the opera was ‘to express my awareness of the perpetual struggle of men and women whose livelihood depends on the sea’ and anyone who has visited the coastline around the composer’s home town of Aldeburgh will recognize the uncanny certainty with which Britten has captured that land- and seascape in Peter Grimes. Perhaps more importantly, the opera also introduces many of the fundamental dramatic themes which characterise Britten’s entire operatic output: the individual against the mass, and the corruption of innocence.
Reproduced by kind permission of the Britten-Pears Library
Items on Sale
| Old Joe Has Gone Fishing | SATB | > Details |
| Peter Grimes Op33 | Libretto | > Details |
| Peter Grimes Op33 | Study Score (hardback) - Hawkes Pocket Score 749 | > Details |
| Peter Grimes Op33 | (Vocal Score) | > Details |
Recommended Recording
Philip Langridge/Janice Watson/Alan Opie/Ameral Gunson/John Graham-Hall/John Connell/Anne Collins/City of London Sinfonia/London Symphony Chorus/Richard Hickox
Chandos CHAN 94478
Click here to purchase this CD set from our online shop
Philip Langridge / Janice Cairns / Chorus and Orchestra of the English National Opera / David Atherton, cond
Arthaus Musik DVD PAL 100 382
Click here to purchase this DVD from our online shop
Peter Pears/Claire Watson/Owen Brannigan/Jean Watson/Geraint Evans/John Lanigan/Covent Garden Royal Opera House Orchestra and Chorus/Benjamin Britten
Decca 4145772
Click here to purchase this CD set from Amazon
News stories for this title :
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