The Stage

The Turn of the Screw

Published Monday 4 October 2010 at 11:28 by George Hall

With a much admired production of Peter Grimes (2006) to its credit, Opera North plans a sequence of Britten’s operas, starting with his chilling version of the Henry James ghost story, which also represents the first production at this address by the rising star team of director Alessandro Talevi and designer Madeleine Boyd.

Elizabeth Atherton (The Governess) and James Micklethwaite (Miles) in The Turn Of The Screw Photo: Tristram Kenton

Set around the beginning of the 20th century, their staging uses a single set that adapts to the many locales in and around the lonely country house where the action takes place. Centre stage is a bed - symbol not only of the sexual secrets hinted at in the piece but also of dreams, such as the exotic forest and night sky conjured up by the governess’s fevered imagination. But the result looks cluttered, and not always responsive to the needs of the piece. A sequence where young Flora plays with puppets, however, exerts a disturbing fascination.

The central performances go well, and sometimes brilliantly. With her soprano vividly employed, Atherton’s overwrought governess goes right up to the emotional wire. Yvonne Howard’s good-hearted Mrs Grose epitomises the solid background against which strange events stand out sharply. Benjamin Hulett’s Prologue and Quint will develop further, but are already notably well sung. Gisele Allen offers a striking Miss Jessel. The children are excellent, with Fflur Wyn’s hyper-active Flora offsetting James Micklethwaite’s flawlessly sung and immaculately acted Miles.

Best of all is Opera North’s orchestra under music director Richard Farnes, which charts Britten’s intricate score with perfect precision and a palpable sense of atmosphere.