Opera North: Peter Grimes

Conflict threatens to tear apart a close-knit fishing community on the east coast of England in this searing, sea-swept classic.

Fisherman Peter Grimes is an outsider, torn between the dream of a conventional life with Ellen Orford, a local schoolteacher, and the truth of his own nature – at times visionary, at others violent. For the rest of the community, he is a channel for their worst fears and their deepest desires.

Britten’s music is rich in emotion as well as brilliantly theatrical. In Phyllida Lloyd’s acclaimed production, it all adds up to an utterly absorbing experience, one which has garnered five-star reviews and won the South Bank Show Opera Award after it was first performed.

★★★★★ “It is generally accepted that Peter Grimes is the greatest of British operas. On occasions like this, you find yourself wondering if it may be the greatest opera, period.”  — The Guardian

★★★★★ “I could watch this deeply moving staging every year.” - The Times