Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) is considered the most important British composer since Henry Purcell. He was famous for his compositions in combination with or based on literature such as The rape of Lucretia, A midsummer night’s dream and The turn of the screw.
Britten’s opera The turn of the screw consists of a prologue and two acts. The libretto is by Myfanwy Piper, after Henry James’ famous novella. The opera was first staged at the Teatro La Fenice in Venice in 1954. Britten wrote the opera very quickly, starting work on the music less than six months before the premiere.
Plot
The plot evolves around a soprano governess who takes full responsibility over a boy and a girl, Miles (alto) and Flora (soprano). Their uncle insists to the governess that she should not try to contact him. Both children seem nice at first glance, but then Miles is expelled from school for causing an undisclosed injury to his friends.
In scene four and five of the first act the governess finds out that two ghosts might control the kids: the bad, former valet Peter Quint (tenor) and the former governess miss Jessel (soprano). When the governess tries to protect Miles and Flora against the evil spirits, they start to resist her. Quint (silent in the novella!) tells Miles to intercept the letter the governess has written to warn the uncle that something’s suspicious is going on, and Miles indeed steals the correspondence in scene five of act two. In the end the soprano housekeeper takes Flora to her uncle where she will be safe.
The governess stays with Miles and asks him what happened. She forces him to admit Quint ordered him to deceive her. Meanwhile Quint’s voice is playing with Miles’ mind. Miles admits it all, but the boy turns out to be torn apart mentally and dies in the governess’ arms.
From the excellent website of the Canadian Opera Company (see sources below), I offer you the synopsis’ of some of the key scenes here:
Prologue: Early 20th-century Britain. A man tells the backstory of the opera. A governess accepts a position with a family to look after a little girl and her older brother. The Governess's employer, who is the uncle of the two wards, stipulates that he must not ever be contacted.
Act 1, Scene 5: The children play at rhymes while the Governess watches. She sees the stranger, who once again disappears. The Governess asks Mrs. Grose about the man, and from the description she recognizes him immediately as the former valet, Peter Quint. He was a bad person, she explains, who may have done bad things to the former governess, Miss Jessel, and even to Miles. "He liked them pretty," Mrs. Grouse says. "And he had his will, morning and night." The Governess deduces that the ghost of Quint has come for Miles.
Act 2, Scene 4: The Governess approaches Miles as he gets ready for bed. She tells him she's written to his uncle. Quint's voice calls out; Miles stops listening to the Governess. The single candle lighting the room goes out, leaving the Governess, Miles, and Quint in darkness. Quint's voice continues, suggesting Miles intercept the letter before the Governess mails it.
Act 2, Scene 8: Mrs. Grose escorts Flora away from the estate to safety, but before she goes, she tells the Governess that Miles has stolen the letter. The Governess vows to stay with Miles. She asks him to tell her what's happened. Quint's voice demands that Miles resist, but Miles is feeling chatty. He tells her he stole the letter, and admits that Quint made him do it. The Governess embraces Miles as Quint bids his adieu. The Governess realizes Miles has died.
Opera
Britten rewrote James’ claustrophobic drama to be played by a small orchestra of thirteen. Every scene is started by a variation on the central theme of twelve notes, which is the introduction to the first scene. There are multiple variations on key motives, such as "Oh, why did I come?" by the governess, "The ceremony of innocence is drowned" by the ghosts and Miles’ profound "Malo, malo". A gong usually announces the appearance of the sad miss Jessel. The only deep male voice of Peter Quint is quite suitably accompanied by the celesta, his melismatic lyrics (several notes sung to one syllable of text) and his malicious fantasies of devastation.
The natural background sounds change with the appearance of the ghosts. The lake transforms into the Dead Sea that Flora is tempted by to cross to get to miss Jessel. Much of the music is focused on the children: Flora’s lullaby, children’s songs, choir songs and Miles’ playful piano music by Mozart. It soon gets a dark meaning ‘though.
When the governess gets stronger, her position is less clear since Quint and she start to share musical parts. Near the end she sings - unconsciously simultaneous with Quint – her high-pitched words "Together we have destroyed him" to Miles, which turn into cold irony when she realizes the boy is dead. The music poses the question for the audience: would Miles have been better off with Quint?
Because of the orchestra parts in between the scenes and the thematic symbolism, The turn of the screw is one of Britten’s most complex opera structures, but just like Alban Berg’s Wozzeck and Lulu, the viewer’s appreciation is not dependable upon knowing the arrangement. All together the monstrous relationship between Miles and Quint seems to reflect Britten’s fear that loving innocent, pure beauty leads to decay. Other reviewers associated this affiliation with Britten’s alleged homosexuality.
The turn of the screw brought Britten international exposure. Critics as well as audiences were very excited about the opera in Venice, which was immediately taken to Britain and the Netherlands. Since 1954, the opera has become a stronghold in the international inventory of opera, with several productions around the world every year.
Sources:
Spectrum’s Opera (ISBN 90-274-6581-9)
Canadian Opera Company (http://www.coc.ca/performances/2002-2003/screw/screw_body.htm)