Customer Reviews

Benjamin Britten: The Turn of the Screw / Stuart Bedford, Aldeburgh Festival Ensemble

5 star:		(1)
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3 star:		(1)
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I'm delighted to see a listing for this recording, because I consider it the best to date of Britten's thrilling, gripping chamber opera. Its unique scoring for 6 high voices (5 of them soprano/treble) and 13 instrumentalists weaves a spell like no other opera. It is stuffed with gorgeous melodies, and musical themes that grab hold in the memory after just one hearing. (The ensemble in which all the voices join at the end of Act I is only one of the memorable scenes -- the Governess gets stunning arias in each act and there are also lovely duets and instrumental interludes.) This recording features razor-sharp conducting by Steuart Bedford and uniformly impressive singing, especially by Felicity Lott, Philip Langridge, and Nadine Secunde. Highest recommendation.

Maybe it's just because I like a defined melody or a theme that can become stuck in your head, but the style of "The Turn of the Screw" wasn't one that fit me. I like a lot of opera, but had a tough time with this one. I was expecting more defined arias and an occasional group number with all six characters singing together, but I didn't get this. From beginning to end...it was mostly recititive. I like to hear this in Italian, but it loses its effect in English. It definately reflects the modern time in which it was composed. While the orchestra is still a normal orchestra, the music was not like Wagner, Mozart, or Verdi. Britten and Piper wrote appropriately for the fifties, but if you are a fan of hard core classical and romantic opera, "The Turn of the Screw" is not for you. The voices are beautiful and the music is great. It is too free flowing for me, but others may really enjoy it.