Britten, Opera and Film: Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw from Stage to Screen

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Dr Peter Auker (Pianist, Piano Teacher and Examiner. Founder Trustee of the Stephen Sondheim Society)

Britten, Opera and Film

Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw from Stage to Screen

Dr Peter Auker (Pianist, Piano Teacher and Examiner. Founder Trustee of the Stephen Sondheim Society)

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English

Boydell & Brewer
14 January 2025

Opera

Series: Aldeburgh Studies in Music

Investigates cinematic qualities in opera and reveals why Benjamin Britten's operas lend themselves to TV and film interpretations.

Benjamin Britten's 1954 opera The Turn of the Screw, based on Henry James's ghost story, has been described by many critics and commentators as cinematic. Along with Peter Grimes, The Turn of the Screw is one of the most frequently televised or filmed of Britten's operas. Some of these productions have used location footage and/or studio work, and others are based on theatrical settings. This book explores the notion of cinematic opera in the context of The Turn of the Screw and filmed opera in general, and questions what inherent cinematic qualities exist in the work which make it particularly conducive for screen interpretation, an aspect of Britten's compositional style which has rarely been examined in detail before.

Contrary to the prevailing narrative around Britten's disdain for cinema and television, the composer engaged with film as both a cinemagoer and film music composer early in his career and these experiences informed his compositional and dramatic choices. Archival research reveals clues to the composer's adaptation process. By tracing the progress from Henry James's original novella to operatic stage and screen production, via the development of Myfanwy Piper's libretto and Britten's score, the journey of adaptation is discussed in detail. A key part of the book looks at the subsequent interpretation of the opera on screen. Case studies evaluate eight directors' interpretations of the opera ranging from 1959 up to the 2020s. Included is a special study of Peter Morley's 1959 ITV version, which had previously been thought lost. This reveals the roots of Britten's subsequent engagement with screen media, culminating in his television opera Owen Wingrave. The book also briefly explores the influence of cinema on stage productions of the opera which have not been filmed.

By: Dr Peter Auker (Pianist Piano Teacher and Examiner. Founder Trustee of the Stephen Sondheim Society)
Imprint: Boydell & Brewer
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 234mm, Width: 156mm,
Weight: 508g
ISBN: 9781837651238
ISBN 10: 183765123X
Series: Aldeburgh Studies in Music
Pages: 230
Publication Date: 14 January 2025
Audience: Professional and scholarly , Undergraduate
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

PETER AUKER has a Masters degree from the University of Sheffield, and subsequently graduated with a PhD in Music from the University of Nottingham.

Reviews for Britten, Opera and Film: Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw from Stage to Screen

Peter Auker's meticulous study Britten, Opera and Film offers a fascinating exploration of the cinematic qualities embedded within Benjamin Britten's 1954 opera The Turn of the Screw, based on the novella by Henry James. * LIMELIGHT *