US Edition 
Grimes on the Beach, Aldeburgh Festival, review
Grimes on the Beach at the Aldeburgh Festival was a triumph against the odds, says Hugo Shirley.
If there were a prize for heroism in the service of an anniversary composer, it would surely go to Aldeburgh’s Grimes on the Beach. Cynics might have detected something gimmicky about the exercise; pedants might note that, despite Britten’s opera being so rooted in the Suffolk coastal town, none of its scenes actually takes place on the beach.
But to sit huddled against the elements watching this, the first of three performances, was to be immersed in Peter Grimes’s world in a potent and unforgettable way, even if the characters risked becoming insignificant against such an imposing natural backdrop, and the score’s brilliant evocations of the elements were in danger of sounding puny and picturesque when pitted against the real thing. Certainly, I occasionally wondered whether the music – soloists were miked, singing live against a pre-recorded Britten-Pears Orchestra – could have been turned up a notch to help it along.
Tim Albery directed the early crowd scenes with a sure touch, but with everyone spread along Leslie Travers’s wide set – a concoction of wooden walkways, assorted boats at various angles, and wonky street lamps – the action was initially difficult to follow. Then night fell, the gusty breeze moderated and the mist rolled in against the blackness, all perfectly timed to coincide with the growing intensity of the opera’s later scenes.
Unflinchingly, Albery started focusing our attention on the tragedy, and Lucy Carter’s quietly brilliant lighting, which had struggled to be effective against the dusk sky, added to the haunting, uncanny atmosphere. The final baying chorus was terrifying, and Grimes’s disappearance towards the all-too-audible sea was heartbreaking.
No praise can be high enough for the singers, performing in uniquely testing conditions. Although there was limited scope for subtlety, Alan Oke managed plenty of interpretative and vocal nuance as a complex, troubled Grimes – his first on stage. Giselle Allen’s Ellen was magnificently focused and secure, her tone penetrating and authoritative. David Kempster was a warmly human Balstrode. The rest of the cast performed with total commitment, as did the chorus – drawn from Opera North and the Guildhall School of Music and Drama – singing along unmiked with its pre-recorded self. Steuart Bedford marshalled his forces expertly from a dugout in front of the stage.
This was a special and extraordinary occasion. Happily, it was filmed and can be experienced in the comfort of the cinema later in the year.
Aldeburgh Festival until June 23. Tickets: 01728 687110; aldeburgh.co.uk