Saturday 30 November 2019

- The best Peter Grimes I've ever seen. The Spectator on Peter Grimes at the Edinburgh International Festival

Benjamin Britten's opera Peter Grimes, premiered in 1945, led to a revolution in England's musical history - the opera combines sweepingly beautiful orchestral compositions with brilliant storytelling and raw vocal lines.

THE ACTION
In the small coastal town, everyone points to one man: Fisherman Peter Grimes. He is not like others and the gossip goes. When he is suspected of being behind the disappearance of two boys, one after the other, the villagers have had enough. But is he guilty, and why is he always alone?

INTERNATIONAL TRIUMPH
Finally, the critically acclaimed production that triumphed during the Festivals in Bergen and the Edinburgh International Festival is back. The simple and effective direction of Vera Rostin Wexelsen contributed to the British press in 2017 naming the performance one of the year's absolute classic highlights. In addition to Bergen, it is now also shown in Oslo and London. Chief conductor Edward Gardner leads a large orchestra, three different choirs and a long line of soloists in this exceptionally clear edition of Peter Grimes.

Storms, foaming waves, morning mist and sunshine - everything can be heard in Benjamin Britten's picturesque music, which also brings us close to the small coastal town's many distinctive personalities. The opera Peter Grimes, with Stuart Skelton in the title role, is a powerful experience where notes and words rarely fit together well and shape a shocking story.

– A highlight of this year's Edinburgh International Festival. The Guardian
– Another glorious triumph. The Scotsman
- The best Peter Grimes I've ever seen. The Spectator

Edward Gardner / Conductor
Vera Rostin Wexelsen / Stage director

Stuart Skelton / Peter Grimes
Erin Wall / Ellen Orford
Roderick Williams – Baritone / Captain Balstrode
Susan Bickley / Auntie
Hanna Husáhr, Vibeke Kristensen / Two nieces
Robert Murray / Bob Boles
Neal Davies / Swallow
Catherine Wyn-Rogers / Mrs Sedley
James Gilchrist / Reverend Horace Adams
Marcus Farnsworth / Ned Keene
Barnaby Rea / Hobson

Bergen Philharmonic Chorus
Edvard Grieg Choir
Royal Northern College of Music Choir
Collegium Musicum Chorus
Håkon Matti Skrede, chorus master
Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra

Benjamin Britten / Music
Montagu Slater, from a poem by George Crabbe / Libretto

Also performed on 23/11/2019 at Den Norske Opera & Ballett in Oslo and 30/11/2019 at the Royal Festival Hall in London.

Presented in collaboration with Bergen National Opera. The concert is organized with generous support from the Kristian Gerhard Jebsen Foundation. The guest games in Oslo and London are carried out with generous support from Trond Mohn.