OPERA
Peter Grimes. By Benjamin Britten. (Royal Opera House.) IT is pointless to hail 'a composer back to his early triumphs, to ask him to repeat what may represent to him the summing-up of a vanished period in his creative develop- ment. But it is difficult when listening to Peter Grimes not to be aware of how much Britten's recent works have lost in breadth of conception, boldness of execution and warm-bloodedness, compared with this— his first—opera. I confess that I was only aware of occasional modifications in the detail of the production, which still seems to me insufficiently simple for the character of the music. The stage is almost always too full, either of scenery or of people; and the blight of all Covent Garden productions —excessive, fussy movements among the minor characters—lies over too many of the scenes. The "loud" behaviour of the two nieces is a good example of the unsuccessful attempt to impart a popular, street atmos- phere. Of the singers Peter Pears now imparts a much greater authority and depth of feeling to the part of Grimes. Only his final hysterical breakdown has a touch of amateurish exaggeration. Sylvia Fisher has not yet achieved the maternal warmth, though she has all the maternal dignity, necessary for the part of Ellen Orford. Jean Watson's Auntie promises well and is vocally already excellent. Geraint Evans's Bulstrode only needs to be a little larger in tone and clear in diction, and Edmund Donlevy and Raymond Nilsson are perfectly masters of the parts of Keene and Boles, for which they are very well cast. I found Valetta Jacopi's Mrs. Sedley more silly than sinister, but this may well be the fault of John Cranko's production. Reginald Good- all conducted a good orchestral performance which will no doubt improve. But can noth- ing be done to keep at least Covent Garden free of the unwrapping and munching of sweets during the performance—an activity which quite spoiled for me the orchestral interludes? There was much to be said for severe sweet-rationing from the music- lover's point of view.
MARTIN COOPER
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