Most Popular British Opera Of 20th Century To Be Performed In St. Petersburg

The most popular British opera of the 20th century "The Turn of the Screw" will be performed in the Hermitage theatre, St. Petersburg. The opera was composed by Benjamin Britten on Henri James's novel of the same title. The cast of the opera will be international for the first time in the opera's history, the British Council told RIA Novosti. Singers from Sweden, Britain, France and Canada will perform to the accompaniment of the State Hermitage Orchestra. The opera will be performed in the English language. Producer Irina Cherkasova decided to set a minimum of scenery on the stage - three chairs and a piano. Sound effects will reproduce the supernatural, tense and mystic moods of the opera. The opera was composed for 6 singers and 13 musical instruments. Some of the instruments are rather rare, for instance, a glockenspiel (a small keyboard instrument that produces bell-like sounds). It was not by chance that Britten was chosen, the British Council said. The aim of the performance is to acquaint the new generation of the Russian audience with Britten's creative activity. It is considered to be the start of the modern academic music in Great Britain. The first performance of the opera took place in Venice in autumn 1954. Ten years later, in 1964, "The Turn of the Screw" was shown in Moscow and Leningrad (present day's St. Petersburg).