Ahead of our brand-new production of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes, Welsh National Opera have partnered with The Fishermen’s Mission, the UK’s only charity dedicated to providing support to the fishing industry, and Welsh singer-songwriter, Gareth Bonello (aka The Gentle Good) on an innovative new project.
In 1945, Britten wrote, ‘In writing Peter Grimes, I wanted to express my awareness of the perpetual struggle of men and women whose livelihood depends on the sea’. The famous Sea Interludes in Peter Grimes, Dawn, Sunday Morning, Moonlight, and Storm, are orchestral moments which serve an important dramatic function by encapsulating the visceral beauty and the power of the ocean plus the rhythms of life in a seaside town. WNO Projects Producer, Michael Graham contacted The Fishermen’s Mission, regarding a collaboration, using their experience and our forthcoming production of Peter Grimes to shed light on the problems the men, women and families reliant on the fishing industry still face. With the support of Gareth, the Sea Interludes project began.
‘Our project aims to continue Britten’s work. Through conversation and collaboration with participants from fishing communities in West Wales and Cornwall, Gareth has crafted a new collection of songs which brilliantly capture a variety of the beautiful, funny, shocking, and profoundly moving experiences of people dedicated to, and entirely reliant on, the sea.’
(All people pictured work in the fishing industry in Milford Haven).
Michael Graham
We hope that this project might enable today’s audiences to understand some of the fictional but brilliantly drawn characters in Britten’s opera. Although it’s a story about a Victorian fishing community, Peter Grimes contains themes which still resonate with fishermen and their communities including the seas' physical dangers and the mental toll the isolation and environmental uncertainty can take on them.
‘It’s been a real privilege to speak to members of our fishing communities as part of this project and I’m enormously grateful to everyone who’s shared their story. I’ve been inspired by vivid tales of lives at sea and deeply moved by the hardships many people endure. It’s been an honour to compose new songs with Seb Goldfinch in response and I hope we’ve done justice to all involved. I’d like to thank all our contributors, Seb, the WNO and the Fishermen’s Mission. I hope our music helps highlight the vital work the Fishermen’s Misson does to support those who risk their lives at sea.’
Gareth Bonello
These Sea Interludes will be performed by a string quartet and harp ensemble before every performance of Peter Grimes at Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff on the 5, 8 and 11 April. A pared-down version will also be performed on guitar by Gareth in Theatre Royal Plymouth before the Peter Grimes performance on Saturday 7 July. Please join us to enjoy these wonderful pieces of music.
