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Britten: Peter Grimes [Box set]

~ Britten

5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Price:	�9.88 & this item Delivered FREE in the UK with Super Saver Delivery. See details and conditions
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Product details

Audio CD (9 April 2001)
SPARS Code: ADD
Number of Discs: 2
Format: Box set
Label: Decca (UMO)
ASIN: B000059ZIE

Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)

Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 10,926 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)
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Disc: 1
1. "Peter Grimes!" - David Kelly, Owen Brannigan, Peter Pears, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
2. "You sailed your boat" - Owen Brannigan, Peter Pears, Lauris Elms, David Kelly, Claire Watson, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
3. "Peter Grimes, I here advise you!" - Owen Brannigan, David Kelly, Peter Pears, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
4. "The truth...the pity..." - Peter Pears, Claire Watson, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
5. Interlude I: On the beach - Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
6. "Oh, hang at open doors" - Jean Watson, Raymond Nilsson, James Pease, John Lanigan, Marion Studholme, Iris Kells, Lauris Elms, Geraint Evans, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
7. "Hi! give us a hand" - Peter Pears, Raymond Nilsson, James Pease, Jean Watson, Geraint Evans, David Kelly, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
8. "I have to go from pub to pub" - David Kelly, Claire Watson, Geraint Evans, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
9. "Let her among you" - Claire Watson, David Kelly, Lauris Elms, Geraint Evans, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
10. "Look, the storm cone!" - James Pease, Raymond Nilsson, Geraint Evans, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
See all 26 tracks on this disc
Disc: 2
1. "We planned that their lives" - Claire Watson, John Lanigan, Lauris Elms, Raymond Nilsson, Geraint Evans, Owen Brannigan, Marion Studholme, Iris Kells, Jean Watson, James Pease, David Kelly, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
2. "Swallow! Shall we go" - John Lanigan, Owen Brannigan, James Pease, Lauris Elms, Marion Studholme, Iris Kells, David Kelly, Geraint Evans, Raymond Nilsson, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
3. "Now is gossip put on trial" - Lauris Elms, Raymond Nilsson, John Lanigan, Geraint Evans, Owen Brannigan, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
4. "From the gutter" - Marion Studholme, Iris Kells, Jean Watson, Claire Watson, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
5. Interlude IV: Passacaglia - Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
6. "Go there!" - Peter Pears, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
7. "Now!...Now!" - Raymond Nilsson, John Lanigan, Owen Brannigan, Geraint Evans, Peter Pears, Chorus of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
8. "Peter Grimes! Nobody here?" - John Lanigan, Owen Brannigan, Geraint Evans, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
9. Interlude V: Evening (Moonlight) - Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
10. "Assign your prettiness to me" - Owen Brannigan, Marion Studholme, Iris Kells, Orchestra of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden, Benjamin Britten
See all 19 tracks on this disc

On this CD:

Peter Grimes
Composed by Benjamin Britten
Performed by Covent Garden Royal Opera House Chorus
with Sir Peter Pears, Claire Watson, James Pease, Owen Brannigan, Lauris Elms, Sir Geraint Evans, John Lanigan, David Kelly, Marion Studholme, Iris Kells
Conducted by Benjamin Britten

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Customer Reviews

3 Reviews

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5.0 out of 5 stars (3 customer reviews)

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18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars STILL A CLASSIC FIFTY YEARS ON, 18 Jul 2006

By	Klingsor Tristan (Suffolk) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

There have been many productions of Grimes around the world and a good few recordings made since this first one was committed to disc nearly half a century ago. From our perspective in the 21st Century it is hard to recall the huge impact made by the first production at Sadlers' Wells in 1946 and by this recording just a decade or so later. It's now easier to see the antecedents and ancestors of the piece - Verdi, Mahler, even Mozart. At the time it seemed a really revolutionary piece, not only for British but also for worldwide opera.

The recording, too, was something new. This was the first time that John Culshaw and his Decca team had fully implemented their ideas for making a real production out of a stereo opera recording. The original booklet proudly showed the grid laid out on the floor that allowed singers to move about the imaginary set as they would in a real theatrical production. And the recorded sound was absolutely state-of-the-art for its time, then still in the early days of stereo. These digital transfers still shine almost as brightly as any of the more modern recordings.

The performance itself has rightly become a classic. The composer conducting his own work, of course, has a special authenticity. And more. Britten, unlike many conducting composers, was a highly professional, totally convincing and usually revelatory conductor - of other composers' works as well as his own. So it is here. Working with an opera house chorus and orchestra (Covent Garden), there is still something of the `shock of the new' about this performance. The drama of the interludes - particularly the Passacaglia and the one before the final scene which is not included in the concert set - has enormous impact and, in these two cases, is probably more moving than any. The reprise of the Dawn Interlude at the end of the opera as the villagers return to their work as though nothing has happened, closing over the incident as disinterestedly as the sea closes over Grimes himself, carries true tragic weight. And, with its pp ending, seems to look forward to another seascape at the end of Britten's final opera, Death in Venice.

Grimes was, of course, the first of Britten's great operatic gifts to his lover and muse, Peter Pears. The role is written for that specific voice and it sits inimitably within its range and capabilities. Whether it's the dreamy head-tones of the `Great Bear and Pleiades', the motivically vital and dramatic plunge of `God have mercy upon you', the great yearning leap of a ninth on `What harbour shelters peace' or the highs and lows of the mad scene (melodic and emotional), the phrases sit perfectly and naturally in the voice. Pears sings the role as no other tenor could and it remains the yardstick for all future performances. If I have a hesitation, it is over the characterisation of Grimes. Pears just seems a little urbane and sophisticated for this uncouth, unsophisticated, violent outsider (albeit one with dreams). Vickers sits at the opposite pole in a performance Britten was said to have hated: he is a raw brute of a man, aurally on disc as much as physically in the theatre. It is a great performance, too - proof that the role is more than big enough to take radically different interpretations. If you want another great reading that sits somewhere between the two, then Langridge on the Hickox discs is probably your man.

As for the rest, this recording was made before all parts in Britten recordings were reserved for the Aldeburgh coterie. Ellen and Balstrode are both taken from Decca's roster of American singers. Both are more than adequate, but probably bettered elsewhere - Heather Harper is arguably the finest Ellen on disc; sadly the best Balstrode in my experience, Norman Bailey, should have been on the first Davis recording but was indisposed at the time. Owen Brannigan (who was a member of the coterie) is probably the finest Swallow on disc. For the rest of the wonderful gallery of Borough villagers, it's a matter of swings and roundabouts between the various recordings.

Nevertheless, this remains a classic recording. The touchstone for your choice of recording is probably the singer playing the title role where the choice lies between Pears, Vickers and Langridge. But then again, Haitink on EMI also provides a highly memorable performance, more international and mainstream in outlook, despite a slightly weaker Grimes in Rolfe-Johnson. Ah, decisions, decisions!

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4 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Original - the Best, 5 Mar 2006

By	J. A. Gillies (Kilbarchan, Scotland) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the composer's own realisation of the work, and as such is closest to the PETER GRIMES of his mindscape. He fine-tuned his score for the voice of Peter Pears, who was both his muse and lover. The role has been better sung since. It has to be admitted that Pears has a somewhat reedy voice. However, a combination of Claire Watson in superb form, an unsurpassed Royal Opera House, Covent Garden cast and orchestra, the gloriously intimate sound of 1950s Decca recording (when all audio transcriptions were of Rolls Royce quality, or they didn't reach the vinyl), and the fact that when you are hearing this version, you are witnessing a love poem from Britten to Pears, makes it the one to covet.

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9 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Still the best, 30 Jul 2001

By	C. Riggs (Washinton State) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This recording of Peter Grimes, with the part of Peter sung by Peter Pears, is still the finest rendition of this wonderful opera.

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