Most Helpful Customer Reviews
|
|
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Maybe not what Britten imagined, but definitive in its own way, October 18, 2005
Benjamin Britten, as composer and conductor, clearly preferred the lighter-toned and more shaded Peter Grimes characterization of his muse and partner, Peter Pears, as can be heard in the classic late '50s recording on Decca/London. Light-toned Jon Vickers is not; nor is he especially English-sounding in the role of an outcast fisherman in 19th century coastal Britain. But for psychological (and physical) tension, Vickers' Grimes is in a class by itself. Among other things, Vickers conveys a sense of barely concealed menace that makes the villagers' ostracization of him understandable, if not defensible. A very strong argument can be made for preferring this harder-edged "Grimes" over the composer's own, and Vickers' portrayal is not the only reason. All of the elements in this performance--and particularly the incisive conducting of Sir Colin Davis---coalesce into a galvanizing whole. The more "theatrical" production of the Britten/Pears set, with sound effects such as one would hear in the opera house, may be missed here, as is a libretto. However, these omissions are easily overlooked as you're caught up in the net this "Grimes" casts over the waters.
|
|
|
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
MUSIC THEATRE AT THE HIGHEST LEVEL, July 12, 2000
Let me begin by saying that Benjamin Britten is one of my favorite composers. Add to that the fact that I had the extreme pleasure/privilege of actually hearing & seeing Jon Vickers live in this, arguably, his finest role. And, if that weren't enough, Sir Colin Davis is certainly known to be one of the finest conductors of Britten's music in our time. If you have never heard the opera, this is a perfect set to own: Vickers knows 'Peter' in and out, having performed the role so many times. It is not just a beautiful performance musically, Vickers also gets inside this tortured man and lets us see him in all his complexity. Also his command of English is perfect: a Canadian, he enunciates every word precisely while always keeping the drama in mind. This is true music-theatre at the highest level. The supporting cast is also excellent, led by Heather Harper as a touching "Ellen Orford" and Jonathan Summers as "Balstrode." If you do know the opera, you'll know that the chorus can be as important as "Peter" himself. The Covent Garden chorus is idiomatically perfect. The sound on this Philips recording is terrific. To make this a MUST OWN set, Philips has re-released it, so that you can buy the two CD's online for the price of one.
|
|
|
9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A robust and idiomatic performance of this key opera, November 15, 2005
This was the first opera recording I ever listened to and it got me hooked. I've since acquired the Pears / Britten interpretation on Decca, but (so far) have been unable to relinquish my loyalty to this Philips set. The two major pillars here are Jon Vickers as Peter Grimes and Colin Davis overseeing the whole work. Vickers makes Grimes much more powerful, agressive, threatening and tortured than Pears. Right from the first bars - in the court room scene - it's clear that Vickers is going to put his heart and soul into this role. Indeed, such is the depth of his portrayal that one cannot help a degree of sympathy for the "sadistic fisherman". In fact, it is Vickers' ability to generate a complex mix of feelings in the listener that gives Grimes a real human dimension. I confess to a personal feeling that Vicker's is the better of the two interpretations. His singing in key scenes such as "The truth... the pity..." and, particularly, "Now the Great Bear and Pleiades" simply makes more of the score than does Pears. Clearly, to judge by the Decca recording by the composer, Britten did not intend this though.
Heather Harper should also be mentioned as a beautiful, compassionate and thoroughly believable Ellen Orford. Her "Let her among you" and "Glitter of waves" are wonderful. The Chorus is superb too. And finally, the orchestra plays immaculately to provide stalwart backing to the singers as well as offering up excellent Sea Interludes.
The sound here is superb. There are one or two noticeable edits, but nothing too serious. This version comes without a libretto, but that's easy enough to find electronically. So, if you're after a Peter Grimes, then it's down to Britten or Davis and you can't go far wrong with either. Those who love the opera will want both since the interpretations are so different.
|
|
|
Most Recent Customer Reviews
|
~ Gyorgy Ligeti
~ Jean Sibelius
~ Aaron Copland
~ Dmitry Shostakovich
See all 22 tracks on this disc
by Benjamin Britten 
