Peter Grimes

Benjamin Britten's first opera originated from a poem by George Crabbe, a man of letters and an activist on behalf of the poor and disadvantaged from the county of Suffolk on the east coast of England. Moved by Crabbe's 1810 poem "The Borough", the composer returned home from the USA, where he had been living out the last years of the Second World War, to complete the work he had begun in the States. Britten himself was from Suffolk and had close ties to the locality. He had a strong attachment to the sea and a respect for its many faces and its powerful influence over the lives of coastal dwellers. He once said that with his PETER GRIMES he wanted to portray the unceasing struggle of men and women whose livelihoods were linked to the sea. Britten's opera shows with unnerving clarity how the people's struggle, often a fight for their very survival, made them tough and unbending and stamped itself on the little coastal communities. The story centres around Peter Grimes, a fisherman and loner who becomes the object of accusations and ostracisation following the unexplained death of his apprentice.

The work, which made Britten famous, was staged by American director David Alden at the National Opera in London in 2009. Audiences and critics alike were captivated by the radical quality and suggestive power of his images, which confirm PETER GRIMES' status as one of the great 20th century operas.