Music reviews

Britten’s chamber opera, The Turn of the Screw, is based upon the eerie novella of the same name by Henry James. Its plot can be understood as a fractured hallucination by the Governess, or as actual visitations by supernatural elements, in the persons of the “ghosts”, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel.

The Governess is looking after two children, Miles and Flora. Gradually she becomes aware of problems – the children exhibit signs of autism, they appear to hear things no one else hears, their behaviour alters, etc. Gradually, through a series of escalating events and hints, she becomes convinced that the children are being haunted – supernaturally seduced. She realises that two former servants, Peter Quint and Miss Jessel, are the haunters – or does she? Is she imagining it all?

The tug between the supernatural and the disturbed landscapes of the mind are magnificently portrayed in the music of Britten. He uses high vocal tessituras to depict nail-biting tension, and powerful and insistent musical motifs and instrumental colouring to create various effects.

The tragedy lying in wait is built upon the increasing complexity of the imagined and the real. The listener is left uncertain (as with James’s novel) about what has actually occurred. Were there ghosts here? Was the governess right in her attempts to protect the children, particularly Miles who was Quint’s target? Who is responsible for the calamity that befalls? What were the ghosts’ motivations, assuming them to be real? The tale is told through the eyes of the Governess, which means the listener is only aware of what she knows, not an objective truth – and all of these elements combine to produce one of the most spine-tingling operas that has been ever given a chillingly and seductive on-stage treatment.

This is a fine recording, with Joan Rodgers in beautiful voice and portraying the Governess magnificently. Ian Bostridge, one of the world’s finest tenors, is an ideal choice for the ghost Quint. Other recordings of this excellent opera also exist, notably the extremely atmospheric recording conducted by Britten himself, with a disturbingly good performance by Peter Pears adding another dimension to the character of Quint.

Listeners will be riveted by either of the CD recordings – and also by the exceedingly good DVD of the opera which stars Lisa Milne (Governess), Mark Padmore (Quint), Diana Montague (Mrs Grose) and Catrin Wyn Davies (Miss Jessel). Indeed, the DVD performance is haunting, and will leave such vivid and half-shadowed images in the viewer’s mind that the memory will not soon fade.