Stuart Skelton in Peter Grimes (photo by Stephanie Do Rozario)

Throughout the performance, he reeled in the crowd by creating surprising shifts in volume, sudden changes in colour, and his capacity to rapidly alternate a lighter with a darker phrase or vice versa. Every note, even his gait, was grounded in pathos. Despite Grimes’s abuse and harsh treatment of child workers, Skelton’s soulful searching performance evoked sympathy and disgust.

Britten struck a chord with this opera because he had crafted music for psychologically penetrating theatre, within a traditional operatic paradigm. Inspired by George Crabbe’s poem of the same name, the libretto was written by Montagu Slater. After its première, Peter Grimes became an international success. The richly imagined Sea Interludes interjected between dramatic scenes became so popular they are now a repertoire staple in orchestral concerts.

Stuart Skelton in Peter Grimes (photo by Stephanie Do Rozario)

A concert-styled production has disadvantages, but director Daniel Slater turned its limitations to advantage in this entertaining interpretation. A major plus was the visibility of the orchestra; escaping the pit, the ensemble’s clarity was stunning. Yoko Okayasu’s heartfelt declamatory viola and concertmaster Warwick Adeney’s keening solos deserve special mention.

Under the superb direction of Scottish conductor Rory Macdonald, the orchestra’s crisp, energised lines, clean chords, and spiky precision captured Britten’s vivid snapshots of nature, especially Aldeburgh’s rugged coastline, the reach and spray of pulsing waves, the play of light on swollen tides. These interludes channel the characters’ emotional state by channeling their relationship with the ocean.

 The orchestra of Peter Grimes (photo by Stephanie Do Rozario)

 In Saturday night’s performance, Skelton’s thrilling singing was enhanced by Opera Queensland’s chorus, its power and presence boosted by the addition of students from the Queensland Conservatorium. This choral army circuited the Concert Hall’s stage, sang at invigorating or hushed volumes, and functioned as a formidable Greek Chorus, underpinning the theatrical exchanges. It also excelled in creating Slater’s eye-pleasing tableaux.

Sally Matthews’s glowing, probing vocal agility served her well in her wholly credible incarnation as Ellen Orford, the kindly, conflicted schoolteacher and Grimes’s longed-for wife. Matthews’ rich voice cut through the orchestra as she pleaded with Grimes or responded to the Borough’s disapproval of her questionable alliance and the way in which she had become yet another victim to this outsider’s threatening mood swings.

 Sally Matthews as Ellen Orford in Peter Grimes (photo by Stephanie Do Rozario)

Bradley Daley was in excellent form as Bob Boles. Mark Stone fleshed out a sympathetic Captain Balstrode. Andrew Collis was accomplished as Swallow. Auntie (Hayley Sugars) and her brace of nieces (Katie Stenzel and Natalie Peluso), decked out in pastel pink and lime skirts, mined every possible nook and cranny of their two-dimensional roles and sang to capacity against an intermittently overwhelming orchestra.

Deservedly, the production garnered a standing ovation for its integrity, intensity, and brilliant music making. This was an outstanding artistic and logistical achievement.

Peter Grimes, presented by the Brisbane Festival, Opera Queensland, Queensland Symphony Orchestra, Philip Bacon, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre, was performed on 20 and 22 September 2018.

ABR Arts is generously supported by The Ian Potter Foundation and the ABR Patrons.