The “Embroidery Aria” for soprano from Act III of the opera Peter Grimes by the contemporary British composer Benjamin Britten. Peter Grimes is about a small fishing community on the East Coast of England. Peter Grimes is a fisherman, but the locals think of him as an outsider and don’t trust him. Renée Fleming is singing the role of Ellen Orford here. This aria is an perfect example of word painting (a musical technique Britten used in his compositions that reflects the literal meaning of a song’s lyrics). Like embroidery work, the winding tune you will hear Renée singing will feel like an unbroken thread.
When I read Jon Vickers would be singing PETER GRIMES for the last time at The Met, I was able to get a single ticket and heard him. Vickers was the greatest tenor in the role and rightly so. Profoundly moving on his later recording so we have that document as well. This aria is also beautiful and moving, one of Britten's best works. A masterpiece still in our time.
I do love this opera; I've seen it performed live a couple of times.
So nice! I saw it live with Anthony Rolfe Johnson and he was incredible!
When I read Jon Vickers would be singing PETER GRIMES for the last time at The Met, I was able to get a single ticket and heard him. Vickers was the greatest tenor in the role and rightly so. Profoundly moving on his later recording so we have that document as well. This aria is also beautiful and moving, one of Britten's best works. A masterpiece still in our time.
The recent GRIMES Met production was a disaster, which I also saw but it was awful unfortunately.