Peter Grimes at ENO Review: A showcase of extraordinary talent
It has been almost eighty years since Benjamin Britten’s opera Peter Grimes was first staged in London. Musically enthralling and dramatically astounding, it is no wonder that Grimes has stood the test of time, nonetheless this English National Opera revival of director David Alden’s 2009 production feels particularly pertinent in an increasingly polarised Britain.
Based on George Crabbe’s narrative poem ‘The Borough’, Britten’s opera follows the fisherman Peter Grimes after the death of his apprentice, a young boy. Although the initial inquest finds that the boy has died accidentally, the borough’s dwellers grow suspicious of Grimes. Upon hearing that Grimes has hired another apprentice against their wishes, the borough’s inhabitants form an imposing mob to confront the outsider.
Amassing at the back of the stage before the opera even begins, the ENO chorus brings their A-game to Britten’s renowned classic. Against a shiplap set, they cast fearsome shadows on the wall, magnifying their power. The orchestra, in the familiar hands of conductor Martyn Brabbins, are also on top form.
Gwyn Hughes Jones excels in the title role. Feeling and yet fearful, the warmth of his tenor counteracts his weathered exterior. Grimes has been hung, drawn and quartered by the bitterness of others, but Jones still manages to find his deeply buried heart. His torment is deeply physical, almost transfixing.
Ellen Orford, one of the only borough dwellers sympathetic to Grimes, is sung beautifully by Elizabeth Llewellen. Her soprano reaches towards stunningly bright heights, soaring splendidly above the score’s tenacity.
The opera’s antagonists, a full borough’s worth, are all impeccably well cast. Alex Otterburn’s Ned Keene is grotesquely repellent. Simon Bailey’s resigned approach as Captain Balstrode is compelling, especially in the final scene. Throughout, however, the real mastery comes through in the choral work. Britten’s endless layers and repetitions are delivered to their full, almost terrifying, extent by the ensemble.
In Alden’s hands, the story becomes as much about the borough’s repression as it does about Grimes’s social ostracism. The brutality of rural Britain is painstakingly articulated as the result of emotional isolation, a coldness worn like armour, spreading psychological apathy.
A tale that warns against the danger of ruthlessness, is an apt choice for starting this season at ENO. We should also not forget that without the extra support ENO received after Arts Council cuts last year, this season would not have happened. This Peter Grimes is great crashing, complex, artistry encapsulated in a fine production. Above all, however, it’s a showcase of ENO’s extraordinary talent.