We find out how critics have been reacting to this revival of Britten’s opera, playing until the 28th May.
The Guardian: ***** “The result is an outstandingly taut ensemble, from Maria Bengtsson’s emotional yet practical Ellen Orford, and Bryn Terfel’s gruff Balstrode all the way to Barnaby Rea’s sneering Hobson.”
Bachtrack.com: **** “Billed as an “imaginative meditation”, Deborah Warner’s production of one of Britten’s masterpieces is certainly a grimly-imagined narrative of psychological terror driven by mob rule. But it doesn’t seem to be the result of any meditative processes. It is a hard-bitten political exposé, fully on-message about the corrosive forces at play in contemporary society.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “The production doesn’t overegg the contemporary parallels with its visuals (there are no Reform placards) and the mob scenes are genuinely scary with the burning torches, effigy and sheer number of the crowd (their movement choreographed by Kim Bandstrup). In other respects, the modernisation contradicts the work now that workhouses no longer exist and child labour has been outlawed (perhaps the setting should be viewed as a dystopia in which these Victorian institutions have made a comeback).”
London Unattached: ***** “This is a Peter Grimes for our times, centred on a flawed, self-destructive hero, undone by the power of the collective coalescing with the irresistible power of the sea. This production has surely reached its peak in this season and, with the Royal Opera House at the top of its game, is worth every penny of the taxpayers’ subsidy. You should go.”
MusicOMH: **** “Deborah Warner’s stark coastal staging at the Royal Opera House finds its full power in revival, with a cast performing at the top of its game.”
The Arts Desk: **** “This first revival of Deborah Warner’s production only gains in horrifying intensity.”
The Standard: **** “Peter Grimes has been with us for over eighty years now, but has rarely seemed more of our time than in this poleaxing production.”
The Stage: **** “Deborah Warner’s modern-dress staging, starring Allan Clayton, Maria Bengtsson and Bryn Terfel, retains its considerable power.”
The Telegraph: ***** ” Deborah Warner updates Benjamin Britten’s portrait of man against society in unflinching and immensely powerful fashion.”
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