Britten’s ‘Peter Grimes’ – Royal Opera – ROH

29 Jun 2011 1 Comment

by StellaB in ROH Reviews

Peter Grimes, ROH

As any English opera connoisseur can tell you, Benjamin Britten’s music sets a tone, an atmosphere, that is almost impossible to ignore when creating a production. Thus it is never a surprise when his work is presented against a background of different shades of grey by a cast dressed in black. But the music is so evocative, so certain in it’s attitude that you could never begrudge any opera house a production of this nature; to me there simply seems to be no other way to do it. This is not to say you cannot be creative within those confines, but you would be hard pressed to find a good production of Peter Grimes set in anything but muted and dark shades.

Thus it was no surprise when I walked into the Royal Opera House to see the Turneresque black, white dashed curtain at the front of the stage. And the rest of the set, designed by John Macfarlane, was simply variations on this ever astute theme. Huge, mobile panels changed the space and shape of the stage for each scene, against a daylight-lit backdrop, very evocative of the moody North Sea. Simple and effective. I loved the efficiency of a relatively bare stage, altered by the panels alone. This worked particularly well for the scene in Grimes’ hut where suddenly the stage was a wash of white, stark and unforgiving for the scene with his new apprentice.

Likewise, the lighting, designed by David Finn, was as daylight, showing simply and effectively the time of day and the general atmosphere of each scene. This overcast little town was just as Britten’s music dictates.

Having seen Ben Heppner play a somewhat uneven Tristan last year, I was more than a little dubious about his role as Peter Grimes. He is no great actor, and in my head, Grimes is not Heppner. However, for the most part, he proved me wrong. This is clearly a role he knows very well, and one he plays with complete self-certainty. Unfortunately his acting does leave something to be desired; just a little too mild, a little too slow to react, a little too overdramatic. But on the whole he’s not an inappropriate Grimes. His voice is very controlled, and almost contained which works well for the troubled fisherman, and his tense madness in the penultimate scene was palpable. Heppner is a perfect example of a singer who can act, but he is not a singer-actor. The acting is very clearly second to his voice, which is how it should be in opera, but then again, I have seen much better acting from singers on the Royal Opera House stage. Heppner’s portrayal was of a man utterly driven and without kindness, and thus it was hard to sympathise with him for the majority of the performance. I worried, as the story progressed and I liked him less and less, that when it came to his final downfall, I wouldn’t care enough for the ending to be powerful. But somehow, and I’m not sure why, by Grimes’ final appearance, I was sobbing. Inexplicably heartbreaking.

The star of the show was, undoubtedly, Amanda Roocroft’s Ellen Orford. Having seen her play this role before, a couple of years ago with English National Opera, I was astonished by how much better she is today. She has grown into the role, and her voice is fantastic. Rich, foreboding, trusting, innately good, she was Ellen, just as she should be. My sole criticism would be just a little too much vibrato in places, but this is a truly small issue in such a wonderful portrayal. For me, the highlight of her performance was in Act I, persuading the townspeople that she would go and fetch Grimes’ new apprentice, singing “Let her among you who is without blame, cast the first stone”. A truly perfect Ellen. Kind, caring, good, tragic. Particularly powerful were her actions in the final moments of the opera, when, raising her church music before her face, she joined the rest of the town in their poisoned silence.

As Balstrode, Jonathan Summers was powerful – in voice and action – and intriguing in his attentions towards Grimes. Almost friendly, he was a very interesting force within the seaside community. An enjoyable and skilled performance to watch. Unfortunately, Catherine Wyn-Roger’s Auntie, whilst careful in her portrayal, was predictable and largely unimaginative. She didn’t bring enough gusto to the part, and nothing in her raised new ideas about the character. Likewise, Roderick Williams’ Ned Keene seemed to promise a lot, and deliver very little. He was just as Ned Keene should be, but nothing more. There was nothing interesting about this portrayal and, unfortunately, aside from his astute singing of “Old Joe has gone fishing”, not much about his voice that could be named remarkable. Much to my disappointment, Rebecca Bottone who was cast to sing the First Niece, was indisposed and instead, alongside Anna Devin as the Second Niece, Katy Batho covered the role. The nieces were welcome relief from the unrelenting austerity of the rest of the town; as actresses they were both fun and astute, teasing the men, and befriending the women. However, once again, their voices were largely unremarkable and I was left wondering if the absence of Bottone – whom I know to have an extraordinarily beautiful voice – may have taken more than it’s fair toll on the duo.

Special notice, however, must be taken of two from this uneven cast; Stephen Richardson’s Hobson was perfection. His voice deep and rich, his resolve to not do Grimes’ dirty work based on palpable uncertainty and fear. This was a strong man, conflicted over his work, his duty, and the stigma of helping Grimes. Hobson has never before been a character who stood out much to me, but in this production he was truly wonderful. The other performance which impressed me greatly was Jane Henschel’s Mrs Sedley. The gossiping old lady, desperate for her laudanum, and to keep her name, was perfectly executed; fussy, easily flustered, ever eager to look over her neighbour’s fences, and the unknowing leader of the town’s underhanded ways. Her voice was also astute and just right for this un-grandmotherly old woman.

Of course, you cannot have a good Peter Grimes without a good chorus, and as far as I’m concerned, choruses don’t get much better than at the Royal Opera House, under the direction of the ever brilliant Renato Balsadonna. Having said that, however, I felt – and I hate to say this – that the chorus at English National Opera in 2009 were better. They had more force; they made me scared and worried for Grimes, whilst at the ROH I was just concerned. It’s hard to know whether this was caused by staging or vocal strength, but either way, the chorus in Britten’s opera can and should be just marginally better than they were.

Similarly, I was surprised that the Orchestra of the Royal Opera House didn’t quite reach their usual heights. I’ve always felt that the four sea interludes are a good measure of whether an orchestra is really made for Britten, and whilst it was certainly wonderful, again, I’ve heard better. This was surprising considering how consistently brilliant this orchestra is. Perhaps it was the unfamiliarity of Britten – which is performed far too rarely at the ROH, – perhaps it was conductor Andrew Davies – which would also surprise me given how wonderful he is in general, – but something wasn’t working quite as well as it usually does in the orchestra pit. Having said that I still cried with the beauty and overwhelming brilliance of the music, but I am inclined to attribute that to Britten’s incredible compositional skills rather than the orchestra.

Although I do not like to compare productions too closely, there are two points which I need to present here. David Alden’s Peter Grimes at ENO had two particular moments in it which I dare say have ruined me for any lesser productions I will ever see for the rest of my life. The first is the moment that John, Grimes’ second apprentice, dies. In this production at the ROH, originally directed by Willy Decker, John descends the ladder and disappears, and it is the sudden falling of the ladder, joined with the boy’s scream, that marks his death. Although powerful, Alden did it better. At ENO, John stretched up one hand, reaching for Grimes, climbing down a rope, and it was the slipping of the rope, and the sudden, silent disappearance of his hand that showed his demise. It was so simple, so shocking, so perfect a moment. The tragedy of that is inexplicably poignant, and still so clear in my mind. The second comparison I wish to make is the penultimate scene, which shows Grimes, alone, half-mad with grief, on the beach. The two productions dealt with this very similarly, giving Grimes a bare, stark, darkened stage on which to move and go mad. The difference was, in Alden’s production, the surtitles were turned off along with the lights in the orchestra pit and we, the audience, were left with an utterly unforgiving look at Grimes. No visual relief, just the pure sadness of this lone, outcast, on a beach, mere hours before a death we know is inevitable. These two moments will be forever branded on my memory.

Despite my criticisms, I still cried from the power and beauty of this opera for the vast majority of it’s running time. It was hot and uncomfortable and I was tired and still I wouldn’t have left for anything. Furthermore I don’t think it would be inaccurate to say that my criticisms tell more about the brilliance of Alden than they do the shortcomings of Decker. This production is still wonderful, and well worth seeing. Particularly – I should imagine – on a night when Rebecca Bottone is back to fill the First Niece’s flirtatious shoes.

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