"Peter Grimes"
O attempt to judge an opera by five orchestral excerpts is not as difficult as to assess the worth of a film after seeing the trailer. But it is perhaps only as difficult as it would be to judge Hamlet on the blank verse scenes alone, or Henry V on the chorus speeches. We cannot get much idea of the impact the whole work would make upon us, but we can assess the artist’s calibre and his skill in handling his medium. Benjamin Britten emerges Siegfried-like from the test imposed upon his opera Peter Grimes, by 2YA recently. One notices firstly the power of his work, the controlled atmospherics of, for example, his storm scene. And I think secondly it was noticeable even in these orchestral excerpts that Britten was capable of shifting his point of view, that musical composition was for him more than a means of self-expression. If he haé this ability to get outside himself it means (to take the long up-gazing view) that he is more likely to produce the musical equivalent of Macbeth rather than the musical equivalent of The Cenci.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/periodicals/NZLIST19470103.2.19.1
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New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 393, 3 January 1947, Page 10
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188"Peter Grimes" New Zealand Listener, Volume 16, Issue 393, 3 January 1947, Page 10
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Copyright in the work University Entrance by Janet Frame (credited as J.F., 22 March 1946, page 18), is owned by the Janet Frame Literary Trust. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this article and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the New Zealand Listener. You can search, browse, and print this article for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from the Janet Frame Literary Trust for any other use.
Copyright in the Denis Glover serial Hot Water Sailor published in 1959 is owned by Pia Glover. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise this serial and make it available online as part of this digitised version of the Listener. You can search, browse, and print this serial for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Pia Glover for any other use.
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