Peter Grimes

Britten’s opera as interpreted by Yutaka Sado

Teatro Regio, Wednesday 24 February 2010 at 8 pm

On Wednesday 24 February, one of the masterpieces of twentieth-century opera will be presented for the first time in English at the Teatro Regio: Peter Grimes, the opera in a prologue and three acts by Benjamin Britten, from the poem The Borough by George Crabbe on the  libretto by Montagu Slater. The staging, from the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie of Brussels, carries the name of the prestigious German “cult” director Willy Decker, while on the podium of the Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Regio will be maestro Yutaka Sado in a double debut for the conductor born in Kyoto in 1961: in Peter Grimes and in the direction of an opera in Italy. Great interpreters, beginning with tenor Neil Shicoff in the starring role and Cornelia Wulkopf, who will appear at the Regio for the first time. Returning to the theatre are Mark S. Doss, the unforgettable Jochanaan in Salome of Carsen, Nancy Gustafson, Elena Zilio and Mark Milhofer. The Chorus Master will be Roberto Gabbiani.

The Borough by George Crabbe is a series of portraits of the inhabitants of a community that is often hostile, forever in conflict with nature and engaged in a ruthless battle with itself. The borough is located on the coast of Suffolk, and was familiar to Britten who was born nearby. The story of Peter Grimes takes place around 1830: the fisherman Peter Grimes, questioned about the death of his young apprentice William, is acquitted by the judge, but the community continues to consider him guilty. In the meantime, Grimes has found a new apprentice thanks to the help of the pharmacist Keene, and Ellen Orford, the elementary school teacher whom the fisherman wants to marry, offers to go and fetch the boy from the workhouse. One Sunday morning Ellen notices that John, Peter’s new apprentice, has a bruise on his neck, and accuses Grimes, who, even though it’s Sunday, has come to take the boy to work. Grimes is frustrated and wants to earn enough money to marry Ellen, and instead she accuses him of being violent;  Peter hits her and goes off with John as the villagers watch. During their flight the boy falls down a cliff and dies, and Grimes escapes. In the third and last act,  Grimes is pursued and accused by the community of John’s death. Having lost all hope, the protagonist knows that there is no redemption for him, and at dawn, while the village returns with indifference to it’s daily life, he goes out to sea to sink together with his boat.

As regards Crabbe’s character, in one of the most complex  psychological portraits of contemporary opera, Slater, together with Britten and his partner Pears (who sang the part of the protagonist in the world premiere at Sadler’s Wells in London in 1945) transform Peter Grimes into a victim of circumstance and the community, and his violent behaviour becomes the result of his incessant craving for work: a terrible denunciation of the superiority complex of the villagers and their total lack of humanity.

Decker’ direction, like the dramatic composition of the opera, leaves judgement of the protagonist open. «There is no moral judgement in Decker’s interpretation. The direction limits itself to exposing the reasons for the conflict», explains François de Carpentries, who will present Decker’s direction in Torino. Yutaka Sado echoes: «Peter Grimes is not a hero, nor is he bad… the opera was written at the height of the Second World War…Grimes is the product of that hardness».

Sado and de Carpentries agree about the central role of the chorus, an essential character that observes, intervenes, comments and judges with pitiless coldness. Sado concludes: «I’m pleased to be collaborating once again with Roberto Gabbiani, whom I met at Santa Cecilia; I’m sure the work will be a very stimulating».

During the course of the eight performances, from 24 February to 10 March, alternating in the title roles will be Neil Shicoff  and Jon Ketilsson (Peter Grimes), Nancy Gustafson and Janice Watson (Ellen Orford), Elena Zilio and Claudia Nicole Bandera (Mrs. Sedley). Mark S. Doss will be Captain Balstrode; Cornelia Wulkopf will interpret Auntie and Mark Milhofer will be Bob Boles. Completing the cast are Silvia Colombini, Daniela Schillaci, David Wilson-Johnson, George Von Bergen, Lucas Harbour, Dominic Armstrong and Enzo Porraro in the role of Doctor Crabbe. Sets and costumes are by John Macfarlane, a long-time collaborator with Decker, the lighting is by David Finn and the choreography by Athol Farmer.

Peter Grimes will be broadcast live by Rai-Radio3 on 24 February at 8 pm and will be presented to the public by Ernesto Napolitano in Incontro con l’Opera che to take place at the Piccolo Regio Puccini on Wednesday 17 February at 5.30 pm.

Box Office of the Teatro Regio, piazza Castello 215 - Tel. 011.8815.241/242 - e-mail: biglietteria@teatroregio.torino.it - www.teatroregio.torino.it

Torino, 29 January 2010

Paola Giunti
Head of the Press Office