The Turn of the Screw is not your typical ghost story. It is a harrowing story of a governess who realizes that her two young charges are possessed by the spirits of the dead. Rather than murderous, violent attackers, it features ghosts who are enmeshed in the natural landscape of Bly, and whose voices blend in with those of the estate’s inhabitants. Their eerie, poisonous presence in the children’s lives and minds are frightening enough, even before you realize, as the story unravels, the terrible repercussions of the havoc they wreak.
This novella, written by Henry James in 1898, has been taken apart and analyzed by critics and readers for years, who continue to debate whether the ghosts are indeed possessing the children or whether their voices are a figment of the governess’ imagination. Among the novella’s many adaptations is Benjamin Britten’s opera (1954), composed for a chamber ensemble with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper. Beginning February 13, the Israel Opera will be performing a brand-new production of The Turn of the Screw to celebrate Britten’s centennial, conducted by David Stern and featuring a cast of wonderful singers from Israel and from abroad.
The music is a perfect example of Britten’s style, mixing traditional tonality with the newer approaches of dissonance and twelve-tone figures. Both acts are divided into eight scenes, each of which opens with a variation on the same twelve-tone theme, carrying the listener steadily through the complex plot.
Piper’s libretto, which on most counts remains faithful to the original text, features several allusions to other works. The nursery rhymes that the children sing are quoted in the libretto and in Britten’s score: “Tom, Tom, the Piper’s Son” and “Lavender’s Blue”. The ghosts, in their Act II duet, declare, “The ceremony of innocence is drowned” – a line from W.B. Yeats’ poem “The Second Coming”. Even the rhyme used in the Act I Latin lesson turns into a strange and sinister pseudo-confession on Miles’ lips.
As always, the Israel Opera will give a “Towards Opening” lecture, which features a discussion with some of the production’s creators hosted by artistic director Michael Ajzenstadt. The lecture will detail the history of The Turn of the Screw and its journey from novel to opera, and give a sneak peek of the new production. The lecture will take place on Saturday, February 9 at 11:00. Tickets cost 70 NIS. Tickets and additional information are available on the Israeli Opera site.
