Potent sea, cruel mob: Peter Grimes at The Royal Opera

By David Karlin, 18 March 2022

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“never have I seen a lynch mob presented so terrifyingly on an operatic stage”

Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 17 March 2022

Britten, Peter Grimes

The Royal Opera

Sir Mark Elder, Conductor

Deborah Warner, Director

Michael Levine, Set Designer

Luis F Carvalho, Costume Designer

Peter Mumford, Lighting Designer

Orchestra of the Royal Opera House Covent Garden

Royal Opera Chorus

Allan Clayton, Peter Grimes

Maria Bengtsson, Ellen Orford

Sir Bryn Terfel, Captain Balstrode

Sir John Tomlinson, Swallow

Jacques Imbrailo, Ned Keene

Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Auntie

Rosie Aldridge, Mrs Sedley

John Graham-Hall, Bob Boles

Jennifer France, First Niece

Alexandra Lowe, Second Niece

James Gilchrist, Rev Horace Adams

Stephen Richardson, Hobson

Kim Brandstrup, Choreography

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*****

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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

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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.

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Mark Valencia, 8th January

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Turandot drowned in an orchestral tsunami at The Royal Opera

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***11

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David Karlin

David is a co-founder of Bachtrack. He is a musical omnivore interested in almost all types of music, but with a particular love of Italian opera. You can contact him from this link.

The power of the sea, the cruelty of the mob: Peter Grimes at The Royal Opera