Peter Grimes is an opera by Benjamin Britten, with a libretto adapted by Montagu Slater from the narrative poem, "Peter Grimes", in George Crabbe's book The Borough. The "borough" of the opera is a fictional village which shares some similarities with Crabbe's, and later Britten's, own home of Aldeburgh, a town on England's east coast.
It was first performed at Sadler's Wells in London on June 7, 1945, conducted by Reginald Goodall, and was the first of Britten's operas to be a critical and popular success. It is still widely performed, both in the UK and internationally, and is considered part of the standard repertoire.
Its American premiere was given in 1946 at Tanglewood by Koussevitzky's pupil, Leonard Bernstein.
Peter Grimes has been produced many times at the Royal Opera House. The first was in 1947, conducted by Karl Rankl and with Peter Pears, Joan Cross and Edith Coates reprising their roles from the Sadler's Wells premiere.
In 1967, the Metropolitan Opera mounted a "landmark" production directed by Tyrone Guthrie and starring Jon Vickers in the role of Grimes.
Cast:
Peter Grimes - Jon Vickers
Ellen Orford - Heather Harper
Captain Balstrode - Jonathan Summers
Royal Opera House Covent Garden
Sir Colin Davis - conductor
PHILIPS - 1978