Organization

Conductor

Steuart Bedford

Stage director

Tim Albery

Set designer

Leslie Travers

Costume designer

Lighting designer

Lucy Carter

Singer

Tenor

Alan Oke

Peter Grimes

Soprano

Giselle Allen

Ellen Orford

Baritone

David Kempster

Balstrode

Aldeburgh Festival

Bass

Henry Waddington

Swallow

Mezzo-soprano

Catherine Wyn-Rogers

Mrs (Nabob) Sedley

Christopher Gillett

Rev. Horace Adams

Stephen Richardson

Hobson

Carrier

Contralto

Gaynor Keeble

Auntie

Charles Rice

Ned Keene

Robert Murray

Bob Boles

Orchestra

Britten Pears Orchestra

Others

Chorus of Opera North

Aldeburgh

United Kingdom

the beach

Filmed in June 2013 during three extraordinary performances that took place during the Aldeburgh Festival, “Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh beach” takes place in the heart of the town that inspired it and is the film interpretation of Britten’s “Peter Grimes”, the most successful opera of post-war Britain.
Based on George Crabbe’s 1810 poem ‘The Borough’, Britten’s powerful and masterful evocation of the North Sea in all its moods has become inextricably linked with the Aldeburgh that was home to Crabbe in the late eighteenth century and Britten in the twentieth, and where both poem and opera were written.
Conceived and hosted by the Aldeburgh Festival, the performances of “Peter Grimes” were directed by Tim Albery who placed the audience on the beach watching the story of “Peter Grimes” unfold as dusk fades over the sea. The cast and chorus, with Alan Oke in the eponymous role of Peter Grimes, Giselle Allen as Ellen Orford, and David Kempster as Captain Balstrode, sing live with amplification, while the Britten-Pears Orchestra under the baton of Britten expert Steuart Bedford is pre-recorded.

Aldeburgh Beach was Britten's home for many years, and provided the inspiration for his first opera. The ghost of Britten hovers over this intense staging, which is seems all the more vivid and haunting performed against this backdrop.

Discover "the most talked about event of the summer”: the film Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh Beach, shown in more than 90 cinemas across the UK during Autumn 2013.

In June 2013, film maker Margaret Williams immortalized Tim Albery’s exceptional staging of the Britten’s opera on the beach in Aldeburgh, the city in which the opera’s story is set. Filmed during three extraordinary performances during the Aldeburgh Festival, Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh Beach is the film interpretation of Britten’s Peter Grimes, the most successful opera of post-war Britain.

Based on George Crabbe’s 1810 poem "The Borough", Britten’s powerful and masterful evocation of the North Sea in all its moods has become inextricably linked with the Aldeburgh that was home to Crabbe in the late eighteenth century and Britten in the twentieth, and where both poem and opera were written.

Conceived of and hosted by the Aldeburgh Festival, the performances of Peter Grimes were directed by Tim Albery, who placed the audience on the beach, watching the story unfold as dusk falls over the sea. The cast and chorus, with Alan Oke in the eponymous role of Peter Grimes, Giselle Allen as Ellen Orford, and David Kempster as Captain Balstrode, sing live with amplification, while the Britten-Pears Orchestra under the baton of Britten-expert Steuart Bedford is pre-recorded.

Photo : © Photo: Aldeburgh Music

Peter Grimes Britten

Public

Approved

Watch full performance here: Peter Grimes (2013)

Peter Grimes - Preview clip

Discover "the most talked about event of the summer”: the film Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh Beach, shown in more than 90 cinemas across the UK during Autumn 2013.

In June 2013, film maker Margaret Williams immortalized Tim Albery’s exceptional staging of the Britten’s opera on the beach in Aldeburgh, the city in which the opera’s story is set. Filmed during three extraordinary performances during the Aldeburgh Festival, Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh Beach is the film interpretation of Britten’s Peter Grimes, the most successful opera of post-war Britain.

Based on George Crabbe’s 1810 poem "The Borough", Britten’s powerful and masterful evocation of the North Sea in all its moods has become inextricably linked with the Aldeburgh that was home to Crabbe in the late eighteenth century and Britten in the twentieth, and where both poem and opera were written.

Conceived of and hosted by the Aldeburgh Festival, the performances of Peter Grimes were directed by Tim Albery, who placed the audience on the beach, watching the story unfold as dusk falls over the sea. The cast and chorus, with Alan Oke in the eponymous role of Peter Grimes, Giselle Allen as Ellen Orford, and David Kempster as Captain Balstrode, sing live with amplification, while the Britten-Pears Orchestra under the baton of Britten-expert Steuart Bedford is pre-recorded.

English

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Crew

Ensemble