John Graham-Hall (Peter Grimes); Francesco Malvuccio (Boy); Susan Gritton (Ellen Orford); Christopher Purves (Captain Balstrode); Felicity Palmer (Auntie); Ida Falk Winland (First Niece); Simona Mihai (Second Niece); Peter Hoare (Bob Boles); Daniel Okulitch (Swallow); Catherine Wyn-Rogers (Mrs Sedley); Christopher Gillett (Rev. Horace Adams); George Von Bergen (Ned Keene); The Italian and international press were unanimous in their praise for Peter Grimes at La Scala, which revived the tradition of Britten's operas on the lyric stages of Italy. A strong British cast was marshalled by the baton of Robin Ticciati, who has already won golden opinions for his opera conducting. Richard Jones's production focuses on the fisherman as the outsider in a brutal society, cut off by mutual suspicion and misunderstanding: an unforgettable production of an opera that never loses its power. Peter Grimes - John Graham-Hall Boy - Francesco Malvuccio Ellen Orford - Susan Gritton Captain Balstrode - Christopher Purves Auntie - Felicity Palmer First Niece - Ida Falk Winland Second Niece - Simona Mihai Bob Boles - Peter Hoare Swallow - Daniel Okulitch Mrs. Sedley - Catherine Wyn-Rogers Rev. Horace Adams - Christopher Gillett Ned Keene - George Von Bergen Chorus & Orchestra of Teatro alla Scala Conductor - Robin Ticciati Director - Richard Jones Recorded live at the Teatro all Scala, June 2012 "Jones has instilled in his singing actors a level of detail and a harrowing believability one is more accustomed to encountering in spoken drama ... Gritton's Ellen is remarkable...[Graham-Hall ] lives his role - earnest, lonely, impulsive, with a desperate desire for acceptance ... Ticciati is in full control from the start." (International Record Review) "... the pride and joy of Richard Jones's production, not to be missed, is its unerring grasp of the psychology and tiered relationship of all the characters. ... Ticciati eschews the weighty, rather Germanic approach of older conductors...concentrating (like Goodall or Hickox) on rhythmic and instrumental subtleties." (Gramophone) "[Grimes is] no tough fisherman but a seedy inadequate cringing from the local teenagers, and suggesting all too contemporary abuse problems. John Graham-Hall evokes his contorted inner life superbly, but with leaner tones than competitors on video." (BBC Music Magazine)
