The Turn of the Screw (opera)
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The Turn of the Screw is a 20th century English chamber opera composed by Benjamin Britten with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, based on the novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James.
At the time, it was claimed to be one of the most dramatically appealing English operas at the time of the premier. The British composer, Benjamin Britten, had already written 6 operas by the time he composed The Turn of the Screw. The opera, divided into 2 acts, 16 scenes, and a prologue, contains a 12-tone theme and often occurrences of strange and out of the ordinary intervals of notes and tones, as well as mystifying character themes that are heard, such as "The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned" with the characters Miss Jessel and Peter Quint.
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[edit] Premiere
The Turn of the Screw was a very small casted opera, so it made its premiere into the world on September 14th, 1954, in the Teatro La Fenice, Venice during the Biennale festival. The original recording was made during that year as well, 1954, and was directed by Benjamin Britten himself, the composer who died 22 years later in 1976.
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David Hemmings, thirteen at the time of the premiere, became one of Britten's intimate adolescent friends. The relationship is described in John Bridcut's Britten's Children.
[edit] Orchestra
- First Violin - Olive Zorian
- Second Violin - Suzanne Rosza
- Viola - Cecil Aronowitz
- Cello - Terence Weil
- Double Bass - Francis Baines
- Flute, Alto Flute, Piccolo - John Francis
- Oboe, English Horn - Joy Boughton
- Clarinet, Bass Clarinet - Stephen Waters
- Bassoon - Vernon Elliott
- Horn - Charles Gregory
- Harp - Enid Simon
- Percussion - James Blades
- Piano, Celesta - Martin Isepp
[edit] Synopsis
Setting Bly, an English country house in the middle of the nineteenth century.
Act I A man, an uncle, a guardian to two children, Flora and Miles, is quite too busy to care for the young and nimble children. Already he has asked of the favor, a governess to the children in the country area of Bly. Wilst explaining the importance of the favor, he reminds there is but one condition: "Not to write, but to be silent, and do her best". It was the great holidays, and the children were at play in the country, but the man insisted not to bail on the children, however, surrounding the mystery of the older Governesses' leave and the odd aura that surrounds the house and its surroundings... And the govness continues to worry, will she like the house, the trees, the children? On her leave, she is already struck again with the reminder not to write to him, and quickly stands up to leave, but stays firm on her commitment to Bly.
Upon her appearance, the children quickly gather themselves from their playful behaviors to meet the stranger from the train station. When the Governess lays eyes on little Miles, they lock glances, entranced with a certain quality of unknown ties, only to be cut off when Mrs. Grose leads her off to explore the beautiful land around her. When all seems well to the Governess, she receives her first clue of abnormalties in the household: a letter of expulsion on behalf of little Miles. From his school. "But Miles and Flora are little angels, the face of innocence!! It is not possible." And so, with a firm decision persuaded by Mrs. Grose, the governess simply ignores it: Says Mrs. Grose, "What shall you do then?" Says the Governess, "I shall do nothing!" "And what shall you say to him?" "I shall say nothing!" Replies Mrs. Grose, "Bravo! And I will stand by you, Miss." -
Clear of all thoughts of her old life, and focusing on the new, she sings about her glorious position of the house and the beautiful children she has in her care, when she spots a pale faced man perched on the tower above. Horror-struck, she mind panics of all the outcomes of a stranger on the roof. Only one thing is on her mind now, "What has happened, here, in this house??" However, in the face off innocence of the children now, happily playing and singing, "Tom Tom, the Piper's Son!", she begins to doubt herself, but decides for herself to confront Mrs. Grose. When forced in her feeble position, she proclaims, in horror, but not in vain: "Peter Quint, he was the master's valet to be left here in charge. It was not for me to say Miss, no indeed, I had only to see to the house. But I saw things elsewhere, I did not like, when Quint was free with everyone. With little Master Miles. The hours they spent together... Yes, Miss, he made free with her, too. Miss Jessel, the governess to those pets, those angels, those innocent babes!! And she, a lady, so far above him. But he had ways to twist them around his little finger. He liked them pretty, I can tell you, Miss (the children). And he had his will, morning and night. I couldn't write to their master, for he never liked worries! T'was not my place, they were not in my charge... Quint was too clever!! I feared what he could do... No, Mr. Quint, I did not like your ways! And then she went, she couldn't stay, not there. She went away to die... Quint died too... fell on the icy road... struck his head...lay there 'till morning...DEAD! Dear God! Is there no end to his dreadful ways?!" A final shout of dread echoed into the night. The Governess immediately feels responsible for the safety and innocence of the children, and devotes her energy to protecting them. However, during a Latin lesson taught by the Governess the next morning, young Miles slips away from reality and becomes lost in a song, which lyrics are evident he has been exposed to Peter Quint's wrongs. "Malo, I would rather be in an apple tree, than a naughty boy in adversity".
Later that day when the Governess is sitting by the side of a lake with the little girl Flora who has just recited a strange list of Seas ending with 'The Dead Sea, this one is the Dead Sea'. The Governess suddenly sees a strange woman across the lake whom seems to be watching Flora who is playing with her doll. The Governess suddenly realises that Miss Jessel has returned too for Flora.
And while that night unfolds, the boy and the girl quickly slip out into the woods to meet with their corresponding, corrupting spirits, Miss Jessel and Peter Quint. While the children look for a fantasy world where dreams come alive as depicted in the last scene of act I, the spirits are at work on their loss of innocence. Lost in the dream state, the Governess and Mrs. Grose storm in demanding excuses for being outside so late. Says Miles, "You see, I am bad. Aren't I? I am bad. Aren't I?"
Act II Peter Quint and Miss Jessel immediately appear as if from nowhere. The angry spirits fight requesting alliances in their time of need. Miss Jessel accuses Quint of abusing and leaving her before she could use the children. Whereas Quint believes he was needed the most. One thing they can agree on, though: "The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned!" As the poem explains, an obvious alliance to corrupt the innocence of the children has formed, of which Miles is being drawn ever closer. On the other face of corruption, the Governess is twisting and frightened, for she does not know where to turn for support, and for everyone in the household is in danger. As the children prepare for church, signs of their corruption is already apparent to the constantly alert Governess, whereas Mrs. Grose tries to put a good face on it.
While Mrs. Grose tries to strike conversation with the Governess, she is absently listening to the church hymns the children are singing softly. Although starting innocent enough: "O, Sing unto them a new song! Let the congregation praise him!", it soon turns worse: "O, yea frost and fallen leaves, praise him. O, yea dragons and snakes, worms and feathered fowl, rejoice in the lord!" No matter how hard Mrs. Grose tries to listen to the Governess, however, she does still not understand. And only the Governess realizes that she must save the children's souls from corruption. When she stops Miles from entering the church, she quickly asks him about it, and he tempts her by saying, "There's so much I want to do. So much I might do..." Says the Governess, "But I trust you, Miles." "You trust me, my dear. But you think and think of us and of the others!" And he quickly cleans her off, "Does my uncle think what you think?"
At that moment, she knew the children needed help, and fast. But, perhaps it was too late... With the pain unbearable, and nowhere to turn except by the words of the fallen spirits, she does the unthinkable, and writes to the children's dear uncle. In her last lines, she writes, "Forgive me, forgive me." For she has failed him. She has failed the children.
That night, the Governess confronts Miles for the second time, only to find the battle for his soul is even stronger. Forced with a test of wits, she explains to him the letter with an instant checkmate and leaves the room in triumph. Left with no other option, young Miles, aided by his tainted conscience, taps downstairs to find the letter, ready for the post. For a battle with his own soul, he loses, and sneaks the letter away; the ultimate seal for his innocence.
The next morning, the two woman of the household marvel at the boy, busy practicing at the piano. "Oh, what a clever boy; why he must have practiced very hard." However during his amusing showcase at the piano, Flora slips away to the lake.
Found at the lake, the Governess, who is sure Miss Jessel is present, tries to force Flora to admit that she sees her. Flora turns on the Governess in a torrent of hate, screaming that she can't see anything and that she hates the Governess. Nothing is there! Mrs. Grose, who cannot see the ghost either, removes the angry child from the scene.
That night Flora pours out unspeakable horror stories to Mrs. Grose and the Governess is forced to sent Flora away immediately. The Governess realises that she has failed with Flora but she is left to face Miles.
Right away she questions Miles, "Did you take the letter? Did you take the letter?!" But distracted by his own spirit, he is walled in, between to oppressing sides, his innocence, and his fantasies. When words split down his spine, and his mind is pressed on all angles, he cries out "Peter Quint, you devil!!" His body and mind shuts down. Quint slowly wisps away into the dark crying out to Miles. And the Governess is shaken, caressing the young boy's dead body. Her last words after singing Miles's song Malo for the last time are "What have we done between us?"
[edit] Sources
For the children's music, Britten drew words and melody from a number of traditional British nursery rhymes, including "Tom, Tom, the Piper's Son" and "Lavender's Blue." Of particular note is Miles' song "Malo." The lyrics to this are a mnemonic for beginning Latin students. The word malo can be either a form of the adjective for "bad", or the first-person singular of the verb malle, "to prefer," which has an irregular conjugation and is a common stumbling block for students. Malo could also be a form of the scientific name for the apple species. The rhyme Miles sings helps students to keep in mind the three possible meanings for "malo" when encountered in a text for translation: adjective of wickedness, verb of preference, or apple tree? An article by Valentine Cunningham examines in more detail the translation of the Latin used in the text.
The line "The Ceremony of Innocence is Drowned" sung by Quint and Miss Jessel is taken from the poem "The Second Coming" by William Butler Yeats.
