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Britten: Peter Grimes / Davis, Vickers, Harper, Et Al


Release Date: 06/15/1999 
Label:  Philips Duo Catalog #: 462847   Spars Code: ADD 
Composer:  Benjamin Britten
Performer:  Jon Vickers,  Anne Pashley,  Heather Harper,  Jonathan Summers,   ... 
Conductor:  Sir Colin Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra,  Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus
Number of Discs: 2 
Recorded in: Stereo 
Length: 2 Hours 26 Mins. 

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Notes and Editorial Reviews

When 'Peter Grimes' premiered in 1945, English opera received a much-needed invigoration and Benjamin Britten's career as the leading British composer of his generation was launched. This ambiguous tale of evil and intolerance in a claustrophobic fishing village has remained the most popular of Britten's operas, its success earned by its evocative music, vividly-sketched characters and unerring sense of theater.
This 1978 recording with Jon Vickers in the title role has long been deemed a classic of 20th-century opera, challenged only by the opera's first recording led by the composer himself and starring Peter Pears. Vickers practically owned this role for many years, and his interpretation differs greatly from Pears'. More rugged and Read more impulsive, Vickers sounds positively unhinged at many points, while Pears played Grimes as more of a visionary dreamer. Other roles are memorably portrayed here as well, with Heather Harper a strong-willed and sympathetic Ellen Orford, and Patricia Payne a menacing and appropriately disagreeable Mrs. Sedley, to name a few. The orchestra under Colin Davis is by turns delicate and thrilling in the wonderful interludes. The only flaw in this welcome mid-price reissue is the absence of a libretto, but thanks to the singers' clear diction - and Britten's incomparable text-setting - it's hardly missed. Read less

Works on This Recording

1. Peter Grimes, Op. 33 by Benjamin Britten
Performer:  Jon Vickers (Tenor), Anne Pashley (Soprano), Heather Harper (Soprano),
Jonathan Summers (Baritone), Elisabeth Bainbridge (Mezzo Soprano), Teresa Cahill (Soprano),
John Dobson (Tenor), Forbes Robinson (Bass), Patricia Payne (Mezzo Soprano),
John Lanigan (Tenor), Thomas Allen (Baritone), Richard Van Allan (Bass)
Conductor:  Sir Colin Davis
Orchestra/Ensemble:  Royal Opera House Covent Garden Orchestra,  Royal Opera House Covent Garden Chorus
Period: 20th Century 
Written: 1944-1945; England 
 Date of Recording: 04/1978 
Venue:  London, England 
Length: 146 Minutes 18 Secs. 
Language: English 
Notes: Composition written: England (1944 - 1945). 

Customer Reviews

Average Customer Review:  ( 1 Customer Review )
 Britten at his best April 3, 2012 By R. Corrado (Va. Beach, VA) See All My Reviews "All singers at the top of their game, especially Vickers.Orch.sounds great.It"s my only recording of Grimes,and I"m very happy with it.The cond. really has a handle on this music, and it shows." Report Abuse
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