The Turn of the Screw was commissioned by the Venice Biennale and first performed in the Teatro la Fenice on 14th September, 1954.
It’s a chamber opera for seven singers and an ensemble consisting of five wind player (flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon and horn), harp, percussion, keyboards (piano/celesta) and string quintet.
Based on a story by Henry James with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper, it tells of an innocent governess confronted by the two children in her care being possessed by evil spirits.
The work is rather unusual – though not unique – in Britten’s output in that it uses a twelve note row (see above) as both a leitmotif and the theme of the series of variations around which the opera is formed.
0:00 Introduction
3:18 Theme
4:37 The Journey
7:13 Variation I
7:47 The Welcome
11:10 Variation II
11:47 The Letter
14:38 Variation III
16:32 The Tower
20:27 Variation IV
20:53 The Window
30:22 Variation V
31:19 The Lesson
35:14 Variation VI
36:33 The Lake
41:54 Variation VII
43:26 At Night
0:00 – Variation VII
4:07 – Colloquy and Soliloquy
8:57 – Variation IX
9:50 – The Bells
18:09 – Variation X
18:41 – Miss Jessel
24:24 – Variation XI
25:34 – The Bedroom
30:17 – Variation XII
30:33 – Quint
32:51 – Variation XIII
33:58 – The Piano
37:29 – Variation XIV
38:21 – Flora
42:08 – Variation XV
43:19 – Miles
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as “fair use”, for the purpose of study, and critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of the copyright owner(s).
Pantygwydr!
The Art of Listening 