The Turn of the Screw at RBO Linbury: Darkness and denial

Emilia Blossom Ostroumoff (Flora) and Phoenix Matthews (Miles)

Phoenix Matthews (Miles) and Elgan Llŷr Thomas (Peter Quint)

Isabelle Peters (Governess) and Phoenix Matthews (Miles)

Elgan Llŷr Thomas (Peter Quint) and Isabelle Peters (Governess)

Emilia Blossom Ostroumoff (Flora)

By Eleanor Knight, 27 March 2026

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“Bassem Akiki gives Britten's seductive and unsettling score an extra twist of cruelty.”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House: Linbury Theatre, London on 26 March 2026

Britten, The Turn of the Screw

The Royal Opera

Bassem Akiki, Conductor

Natalie Abrahami, Director

Michael Levine, Set Designer

Hannah Clark, Costume Designer

Guy Hoare, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Duncan McLean, Video

Isabelle Peters, Governess

Elgan Llŷr Thomas, Peter Quint, The Prologue

Claire Barnett-Jones, Mrs Grose

Kate Royal, Miss Jessel

Emilia Blossom Ostroumoff, Flora

Phoenix Matthews, Miles

Anna Morrissey, Choreography

Richard Jones’ clunky Samson et Dalila returns to Covent Garden

Dominic Lowe, 13th May

With Aigul Akhmetshina and Seokjong Baek in the title roles, there are reasons to be optimistic, but The Royal Opera’s revival of Richard Jones’ production is a mixed bag.

***11

Peter Grimes drops anchor again at The Royal Opera

Christopher Woodley, 5th May

Allan Clayton and Sir Bryn Terfel lead a strong cast in a revival of Deborah Warner's dark staging of Britten's signature work at Covent Garden.

****1

Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre

Eleanor Knight, 1st May

Tales of love and loss as operas by Elena Langer, Charlotte Bray and Elizabeth Maconchy form a varied triple bill in this showcase for The Royal Opera’s Jette Parker Artists.

****1

A riveting Rigoletto revival at the Royal Opera House

Dominic Lowe, 25th March

Sir Mark Elder celebrates 50 years at Covent Garden by returning to his first opera there in 1976 – Verdi's Rigoletto – in a revival of Oliver Mears' excellent 2021 production.

****1

Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight

David Karlin, 17th March

A revelatory orchestral performance and a cast led by Andreas Schager, Christopher Maltman and Elisabeth Strid make this a Siegfried for the record books.

*****

Terfel’s craggy Boris Godunov returns to Covent Garden

Mark Pullinger, 29th January

The second revival of Richard Jones' staging of Mussorgsky's original 1869 version of Boris Godunov once again stars the Welsh knight.

****1

More reviews...

Eleanor Knight

Eleanor is a writer and librettist. Her work has appeared in all kinds of places from the Royal Opera House to the foot tunnels beneath the Elephant and Castle roundabout, and she has written arts reviews and features for British papers and magazines. Having begun her working life in theatre, she switched to publishing and later taught creative writing at the University of Brighton and Birkbeck. Currently based in the Netherlands, she teaches at the University of Utrecht. Eleanor plays violin and sings, though not usually at the same time, and has recently taken up speed-skating.

Darkness and denial: The Turn of the Screw at the Royal Opera House