The Turn of the Screw - Britten


photo by Felix Sanchez

Roocroft
Kennedy
Forst
Wilson
Summers
Armfield

Supported in part through the
Margaret Alkek Williams
General Director Chair Fund

The Britten Series is supported in part by the
Britten-Pears Foundation

 
This production originated at Opera Australia

7:30 PM
2:00 PM

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Brown Theater
Sung in English with English Supertitles
Performance Timing: 2 hours, 10 minutes including 1 intermission

In this operatic thriller two children are pulled toward the world of the dead by the ghosts of their prior governess Miss Jessel and her lover Peter Quint. Internationally acclaimed soprano Amanda Roocroft plays the governess whose obsessive efforts to protect the children may prove more of a threat than the spirits themselves. Powerhouse mezzo-soprano Judith Forst is housekeeper Mrs. Grose, the governess’s only ally. Haunting Victorian sets depict the world of the Henry James novel on which the opera is based. Directed by Neil Armfield, this is the third opera in HGO’s ongoing Benjamin Britten series.

"A brilliant production." - Sydney Morning Herald

Articles & Reviews
"The great operas have made enduring lyric theater of all sorts of stories... One type of story, however, remains relatively rare in operatic form: the suspense tale. The Turn of the Screw... is the rare exception..." - Houston Chronicle

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Something is terribly wrong at Bly House — but things couldn't be righter with Houston Grand Opera's adroitly realized The Turn of the Screw. - Houston Chronicle
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"The young Michael Kepler Meo makes his HGO debut...He’s a kind of miracle throughout. Joélle Harvey is his confident sister Flora, with a clear and exacting intonation, and Tamara Wilson truly steals the show as Miss Jessel" - Culutre Map
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"This is yet another triumph in HGO's repertoire, and the unfaltering care being given to the Britten series makes one confident that it will continue to be a highlight of upcoming seasons." - ConcertoNet.com
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"The opera also contains three of the most vivid operatic characters that Britten ever devised – the Governess, Peter Quint and Miles.  In Houston, Roocroft, Kennedy and Meo performed these roles brilliantly." - Opera Warhorses

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"Director Neil Armfield skillfully brings the characters to life while gradually tightening the dramatic screws." - The Dallas Morning News
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WANT TO KNOW MORE?

The Turn of the Screw synopsis

Colin Ure's Podcast Guide to The Turn of the Screw (mp3)

Preview this season's operas

 

Amanda Roocroft*
Governess

Andrew Kennedy
Prologue/Peter Quint

Michael Kepler Meo*
Miles

Joélle Harvey*
Flora

Judith Forst*
Mrs. Grose

Tamara Wilson**
Miss Jessel

Houston Grand Opera
Orchestra

Patrick Summers
Conductor

Neil Armfield
Director

Stephen Curtis*
Set and Costume Designer

Nigel Levings
Lighting Designer

* Houston Grand Opera debut
** Former Houston Grand Opera Studio Artist

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The Elixir of Love       Lohengrin       Tosca       The Turn of the Screw       The Queen of Spades       Xerxes