The Stage

Peter Grimes

Published Monday 6 November 2006 at 13:40 by George Hall

Britten’s masterpiece hits the boards at Opera North’s refurbished Leeds home with a bang. Phyllida Lloyd’s production, with simple but dour designs by Anthony Ward, offers an unflattering portrait of the inhabitants of an English village, with prying eyes and hypocritical judgement turning Grimes into a hate figure and then sending him to his death. Though the original is set around 1830, the costumes bring us near to our day but there’s no less in focus and a big gain in immediacy.

The chorus excels itself both vocally and dramatically, and many Opera North regulars deliver clear-edged portrayals of the smaller roles. Yvonne Howard is the half-maternal, half-cynical Auntie, landlady of the local pub, in charge of her two tarty ‘nieces’, sung by Amy Freston and Claire Booth - as credible a duo as could be. Managing a well-judged degree of charm, Roderick Williams is memorable as Ned Keene, here dealing drugs on the quiet. Brilliantly played too are Nigel Robson’s rector, Stephen Richardson’s Hobson, Richard Angas’ Swallow and Ethna Robinson’s Mrs Sedley, while Alan Oke’s half-crazed evangelist Bob Boles is outstanding.

Right at the centre are Christopher Purves’s no-nonsense Balstrode, Giselle Allen’s unusually involving Ellen Orford and Jeffrey Lloyd-Robert’s Grimes, which stretches him vocally but he rises valiantly to the challenge. His characterisation is so disturbing as to move every spectator to the core.

From the pit, conductor Richard Farnes and the orchestra tear into Britten’s score with virtuosity.