Marta Zaliznyak / Reviews

When Temple University switched to largely online instruction in March, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Temple University Opera Theater began to consider how it would present the piece that had just gone into production: Benjamin Britten’s chamber opera The Turn of the Screw. Based on the Henry James novella of the same name, the opera is set in the mid-19th century and follows a governess caring for two children who becomes convinced that her charges are being haunted. Temple Opera’s production was shaped by the pandemic: auditions were held virtually; individual coaching sessions and all initial rehearsals took place online; costumes were chosen from storage, based on previous measurements; the cast were taught to fit and wear their wigs by themselves; and the full performance was recorded for streaming, with the physically distanced singers performing behind Plexiglas screens. See how the cast and crew staged an opera for the COVID-19 era.