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Peter Grimes is an opera written in English by Benjamin Britten, and is widely thought to be one of the greatest operas written in the twentieth century. It is based on 'The Borough', a poem by George Crabbe. It was Britten's first opera to receive widespread critical acclaim.
Plot Synopsis
The opera is set in an English coastal village in around 1830. It opens with the fisherman Peter Grimes being questioned over the death of his apprentice. The coroner advises Grimes not to get another apprentice. However, Grimes is in desperate need of help to fish, and his friend the apothecary Ned Keene finds him a new apprentice from the workhouse. Nobody will volunteer to fetch the boy, until Ellen Orford (a schoolmistress, whom Grimes wishes to marry) offers. Grimes finds himself ostracised from the village, and his friends try to convince him to leave. Despite Ellen's efforts, Grimes mistreats his new apprentice, and the boy falls down a cliff and is killed. The villagers gossip that Grimes has murdered his two apprentices. Pursued by the villagers, Grimes descends into madness, until a friend suggests he should commit suicide by sinking his boat. The next day, the villagers begin a search for Grimes, but soon grow tired. The opera ends with the coastguard reporting a sinking ship, but this is dismissed as a rumour.
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