Bachtrack logo

No harbour shelters peace: Peter Grimes drops anchor again at The Royal Opera

Allan Clayton (Peter Grimes)
© RBO | Tristram Kenton
Maria Bengtsson (Ellen) and Sir Bryn Terfel (Captain Balstrode)
© RBO | Tristram Kenton
Allan Clayton (Peter Grimes)
© RBO | Tristram Kenton
John Graham-Hall (Bob Boles), Barnaby Rea (Hobson) and chorus
© RBO | Tristram Kenton
Loading, please wait...
See full listing
“the beast is forever with us and its insidiousness is here grimly and fantastically evoked”
Reviewed at Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, London on 5 May 2026
Britten, Peter Grimes
The Royal Opera
Jakub Hrůša, 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
Catherine Wyn-Rogers, Auntie
John Graham-Hall, Bob Boles
Clive Bayley, Swallow
Christine Rice, Mrs Sedley
Jacques Imbrailo, Ned Keene
Barnaby Rea, Hobson
James Gilchrist, Rev Horace Adams
Jennifer France, First Niece
Natalia Labourdette, Second Niece
Kim Brandstrup, Choreography
Johnny Imbrailo, Actor
Two funerals and a bedding at the Linbury Theatre
****1
The Turn of the Screw at RBO Linbury: Darkness and denial
*****
A riveting Rigoletto revival at the Royal Opera House
****1
Siegfried at the RBO: Kosky and Pappano surprise and delight
*****
Terfel’s craggy Boris Godunov returns to Covent Garden
****1
Ermonela Jaho returns in triumph to The Royal Opera’s Traviata
*****
More reviews...
Related articles
Loading image...
Opera in the blood: Speranza Scappucci
Loading image...
Bachtrack top ten: Opera in English
Loading image...
Big birthdays: Philharmonia Orchestra celebrates 80 years in 2025–26
Loading image...
Attuned to the times: Anastasia Kobekina in Prague
Christopher Woodley