5 Things To Know about THE TURN OF THE SCREW

April 2, 2026

Credit: © Julian Guidera

Never before seen on our mainstage, Britten’s The Turn of the Screw is without a doubt one of the most chilling and psychologically charged operas of the 20th century—a ghost story that draws on themes of corrupted innocence and nightmarish obsession to plumb terrifying psychological depths.

Learn more about the work behind this “truly great achievement, devastating and unforgettable” (The Guardian), before joining us for The Turn of the Screw in Winter 2027!

“When I'm bad I am bad!”

Britten based his chamber opera The Turn of the Screw on the eponymous 1898 gothic horror novella by American-British author Henry James, widely considered one of the greatest English-language novelists. In it, a governess is assigned to care for two orphans in a country house haunted by the spirits of a former valet, Quint, and former governess, Miss Jessel, intent on possessing the children. Although originally received as a straightforward ghost story, later interpretations entertained the possibility that the “ghosts” are in fact figments of the governess’ psychosis.

From Grimes to Quint

Having shot to international fame with Peter Grimes in 1945, Britten continued to explore the struggle of outsiders and the corruption of innocence as central themes in The Turn of the Screw (both Billy Budd and Death in Venice would also dwell on the forbidden love hinted at here). Featuring a libretto by art critic and librettist Myfanwy Piper, whose idea it had been to adapt James’ novella into an opera, The Turn of the Screw premiered in 1954 in Venice with Britten’s partner, tenor Peter Pears, in the role of Quint.

Fear never sounded so good

Music professor Peter Evans has described the opera as "Britten's most intricately organized opera." It is composed in two acts of eight scenes each, with a prologue that introduces the 12-note “Screw” theme. Each scene begins with a variation on this theme. The score also incorporates traditional British nursery rhymes “Tom, Tom, the piper’s son” and “Lavender’s Blue.” Although drawing on a relatively small orchestra, the orchestration includes a celesta and wide range of percussion including glockenspiel, tubular bells, triangle, wood block, side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, tom-tom, timpani, a suspended cymbal, and a gong.

Innocents at the opera

Henry James’ novella has inspired numerous other theatrical and cinematic adaptations including a Broadway play (Harold Pinter’s The Innocents, 1950), multiple films (including The Innocents, 1961, with a screenplay adapted by William Archibald and Truman Capote; and The Turning, 2020) and several spin offs, including Michael Winner’s 1971 prequel The Nightcomers and The Haunting of Bly Manor on Netflix (2020). Arguably, however, Britten’s opera presents the most faithful response to the source material—and has since become a classic in its own right.

Come for the slow-creep menace—stay for the terror

Louisa Muller’s production leans heavily into the story’s Victorian and Gothic roots, with design elements that include weathered stone walls, cathedral windows, and a lake which may or may not be haunted. Reviewing for The Spectator, Alexandra Coghan observed that Muller “treads lightly and discreetly through the tale's tangle of ambiguities and uncertainties, playing deftly with suggestion, illusion, and imagination to create something genuinely chilling—a staging of slow-creep menace and sweaty, night-time terrors.”

The Turn of The Screw appears at the Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts from January 23 - February 17, 2027.

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