munkus's Full Review: Britten: Peter Grimes / Benjamin Britten, Peter Pe...
Peter Grimes is a major work of the 20th Century and the first English work ever to enter international repertory. Based on a long poem by Crabbe it was composed to a libretto by Montagu Slater for a 1945 premiere to celebrate the re-opening of Sadler's Wells. The Sadler's Wells company were practically in open rebellion- they loathed the score with a passion. At the first performance the curtain came down to a completely silent audience. The stage manager was about to lower the safety curtain in case it got ugly. Then the auditorium erupted into adulation- the company and Britten took 14 curtain calls. Grimes was a monster hit.
Grimes is a complicated work. In Crabbe's original poem the title character is very clearly a psychopath who kills little boys. Britten and Slater take a very different approach- leaving the question of whether Grimes is a sociopath open to discussion. What is beyond debate though is the way a closed society (the borough) treats an outsider (Grimes). The psychological bias from Britten (and Pears, his long term partner, who whilst not officially credited as such had a huge influence on the design of the opera) is evident. Not only was he gay, but he was an objector during the war. This naturally led to a lot of resentment from Britain's more traditional areas of society. And, there was the slightly curly problem of Britten's attraction to young boys (though, let me stress, it is more or less accepted that he never acted on it) which is perhaps a reason (subconscious or otherwise) why Grimes is given a rather unwarranted ambiguity regarding the death of the apprentice boys. It was, however, a conscious decision to steer it as far away from the dangerous grounds of pedophilia as possible. Perhaps not to draw attention to his own (at this stage deeply, deeply secret) feelings.
But Grimes is far from a sympathetic character- he works the silent apprentice boy in the opera to the bone. He pushes everyone away violently- notably his only two defenders Ellen and Captain Balstrode. He's violent, aggressive, moody and generally completely despicable. Slater and Britten give him a tenderness but make it clear that Grimes cannot reconcile his emotions with his deep rooted resentment of pretty much everyone.
Grimes' only two allies, for lack of a better word, are Ellen and Captain Balstrode. Ellen is the only truly kind-hearted character in the entire work. She wants to help Grimes because she may possibly love him. She also wants to help him out of genuine pity and charity (i.e the very things which Grimes loathes being extended to him). Balstrode, meanwhile, is much more of a realist. He knows Grimes better than Grimes perhaps knows himself. He wants to help Grimes, but knows that only Grimes can save himself now. It is after all Balstrode who suggests that Grimes kill himself rather than be at the mercy of the relentless mob.
The other characters, a series of borough characters, are equally flawed (except Ellen and Balstrode). Britten makes a clear statement. The upstanding citizens of the town- Swallow the Mayor is a lech, Bob Boles is a drunk, the Rector a hypocrite and Mrs Sedley, a prim widow, is a drug addict. Their callousness, especially their buddy conversational tone after their first raid on Grimes' hut towards the end of Act II, is made crystal clear by Britten. Meanwhile the less savoury denizens- primarily Auntie and her Nieces who run the local pub are generally more likeable.
Britten took many opera conventions for this opera- a mad scene (or three), a storm, mob violence and an offstage church service providing a juxtaposition with the violence onstage. You also know it's going to end far from happily- but who is responsible for Grimes' suicide- himself for refusing help or society at large?
My major criticism with the opera is the Prologue- with its long stretches of recitative I find it far too clunky. With the recording I nearly always skip to the First Interlude-Dawn.
Ah but those interludes! Each is pure sumptousness. Dawn with its beautiful little flips of unison flutes and violins... the excitement of the Storm and the bubbling perkiness of Sunday Morning. The darkness of the Passacaglia. The stillness and nocturnal beauty of Evening before the final denouement of the entire work.
There is much exceptionally beautiful music in this work. From the gutters, the exceptionally difficult female quartet that closes Scene 1 Act II is spine-tingling. Now the great Bear and the Pleiades, Grimes' rather incomprehensible pub aria, is a stunning study of complete and utter despair- but also a stubborness to actually do anything about it. Then there is the ultimate mob persecution moment- the crux of the entire opera when the mob descends on Grimes' hut with an electrifying cry that makes all the hair on the back of your neck stand up.
Pears may not be the technically greatest tenor ever, but his dramatic presence (despite Noel Coward's quip "he acts like his legs don't belong to him") is undeniable. In Peter Grimes, the title role is full of technical demands. It is a true all-rounder role and one of the reasons why such a fantastic, critically acclaimed and loved by audiences opera is relatively rarely performed- the title role is one of the most difficult in the repertoire- and that is just speaking musically. Add in the dramatic challenges of playing such an unlikeable ogre and you've got one helluva of part. In one of my favourite sections, the pub song towards the end of Act II Old Joe has gone fishin' there are no less than ten vocal parts bubbling along over a 7/4 timpani beat and Grimes has to cut through with one of the most spinechilling entries in opera- and Pears passes this test with flying colours. There are countless similiar examples throughout the recording- What harbour shelters peace and so on.
Unfortunately Claire Watson as Ellen suffers comparison with Joan Cross. However, Watson is still sensational with a suitably mature soprano voice for Ellen, particularly in her first aria- Let you among you without fault cast the first stone and throughout the work as a whole. Her most difficult solo moment occurs as the hysteria rises in the town at the end of Scene 1 Act II when what starts as a solo aria of desperation becomes an intense polyphonic plea for moderation with all the principals (but Grimes) and the chorus reacting to Grimes in various shades of outrage below. Watson's voice soars but maintains it's desperate quality. James Pease as Balstrode is suitably gruff and mellow but with a genuine good heart within. All the principals are good- but Jean Watson's heavy, rich contralto is an absolute treat in the role of Auntie.
It's not often a composer is successful at conducting their own work but Britten is superb on this recording. Obviously the empathy with his lead goes beyond a conductor-performer relationship, but he shows sensational leadership with the orchestra and an exceptionally strong performance from the chorus (Royal Opera House Covent Garden) to give the music such clarity and emotion. This 1958 recording sounds as fresh as if it was done yesterday. My only gripe with Decca are the inaccurate track listings which, without knowing the libretto, are little help at all.
Peter Grimes is an extraordinarily brilliant opera- one of the finest of the genre- and this superb recording under Britten's own baton is sheer musical brilliance.
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