Opera: The Turn of the Screw

Opera: The Turn of the Screw

From the Director Alice Pierce:
Most everyone loves a good ghost story! What makes Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw so appealing to its audiences? Britten freely uses twelve tone technique, weaving his musical ideas around three four-note groups.His gothic tale, full of uncertainty and ambiguity, constantly motivates the audience to ask themselves whether there is a rational explanation for mysterious or supernatural events. The title itself is a cliché that has evolved to mean a bad situation becoming gradually worse. The situation is either made worse by the ghosts Peter Quint and Ms. Jessel, or the psychological instability of the Governess. Is she going mad or is she truly seeing ghosts? Do Miles and Flora also see the ghosts, or are they playing to the Governess’ hysteria? Another main theme is the loss of innocence. James taunts us with the suggested abuse of Miles by Quint, and Flora by Ms. Jessel, and the perception of evolving evil within both of the children. Neither Britten nor James gives us unequivocal answers to the overlapping themes within the plot. That is the magnetism of The Turn of the Screw.

Opera: The Turn of the Screw

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