The Turn Of The Screw
Garsington Opera, Buckinghamshire Until July 19
Standing ovations are a rarity at country-house operas. So the full-hearted one given to this The Turn Of The Screw was a tribute to the exceptional quality of all aspects of it, from the direction and the staging, to the conducting and the singing.
This is a production of Benjamin Britten’s opera that would have graced any stage, however prestigious.
At the end of Peter Hall’s Glyndebourne A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Britten’s partner, Peter Pears, with tears in his eyes, proclaimed, ‘I wish Ben could have lived to see this.’
Kathleen Wilkinson, Sophie Bevan (both above) & Katherine Broderick lead an impeccable cast in this Garsington Opera production of Benjamin Britten’s The Turn Of The Screw
The best compliment I can pay here is that Pears would surely have said the same about a staging entirely faithful to Britten and his librettist Myfanwy Piper’s original vision.
There are no shortage of Britten aficionados who think The Turn Of The Screw, written in only four months in the spring of 1954, is the composer’s finest achievement for the stage. But it’s a chamber opera, composed for only 13 instrumentalists, so can often be overwhelmed by both Peter Grimes and Billy Budd.
But not here, thanks to Richard Farnes’s excellent conducting, and fine playing from members of the Garsington Opera Orchestra, proving once again that outstanding operatic performances begin in the pit.
Not that what happens on the stage is remotely laggardly. As so often at Garsington, the casting is impeccable, with Sophie Bevan a multi-faceted Governess, rising to all the many challenges; Kathleen Wilkinson a totally persuasive Mrs Grose the housekeeper; and Katherine Broderick an unusually forceful and effective Miss Jessel.
Ed Lyon is a suitably sinister Quint, while the teenager Adrianna Forbes-Dorant makes a fine fist of Flora, the young girl so often in the past played by an adult.
Special commendation, too, for Leo Jemison’s clear and pinpoint- accurate singing as Miles. Some thoughts also for his proposed role-sharing partner Lucas Rebato, whose voice broke a fortnight ago!
The director, Louisa Muller from New York’s Met, merits the highest praise for her restraint, refusing to answer the question Britten and Piper undoubtedly pose, about whether it’s all the deluded Governess’s nightmare.
Also, unlike most modern directors, she sticks to a period setting, especially effective here thanks to Christopher Oram’s designs, with all three principal women appearing in black, like the witches in Macbeth. The neglected old country house at Bly is also atmospherically presented.
Catch it if you can.
Pavarotti: Music From The Motion Picture Out now
Rating: 
This month, Ron Howard’s much-publicised documentary film Pavarotti is released. This is the soundtrack album, which I have listened to with much enjoyment.
Given the significance of the 1990 World Cup in Pavarotti’s career, when Nessun Dorma brought him global fame well outside the ranks of established opera fans, it’s appropriate for me to describe this CD as a game of two halves.
This month, Ron Howard’s much-publicised documentary film Pavarotti is released. This is the soundtrack album, which I have listened to with much enjoyment
To begin with, of course, there’s the stuff we are all familiar with from his many Decca recordings, including that celebrated Nessun Dorma, recorded in London in the Seventies with Zubin Mehta and the London Philharmonic Orchestra, plus lots of other tried and trusted Pavarotti favourites, such as Questa O Quella and La Donna E Mobile, both from Rigoletto.
But the other half comprises live recordings, some of which are also familiar, such as two extracts from the original Three Tenors Concert in Rome, but some of which are not.
For instance, a gloriously over-the-top Vesti La Giubba from Philadelphia, with an array of sobs Pavarotti would not have indulged in the studio. There’s also a rather touching Donna Non Vidi Mai dedicated by Pavarotti to ‘Lady Diana’, from his Hyde Park concert.
One item on the CD is a live recording of Puccini’s Donna Non Vidi Mai dedicated by Pavarotti to ‘Lady Diana’ (pictured together, above) at his Hyde Park concert
Inevitably there’s some religious kitsch with Bono and others, not to my taste, but an undeniable part of the Pavarotti phenomenon.
At 80 minutes, this is good value. There is a companion set of Pavarotti’s Greatest Hits on three CDs, but this film soundtrack album is surely the one to have.