The Turn of the Screw

Britten’s music is at the same time ancient and modern, haunting and exquisite, and seemingly gliding between the visible and invisible worlds. His music vocabulary speaks of both the light of spirituality and the dark of human conditions, especially the struggles between the two. A committed Pacifist, Britten refused the fate of being drafted during WWII, and endured harsh critiques and even trials. Yet he remained compassionate in his music to find the voices of the vulnerable and the hopefulness amongst the sufferings, finding light where darkness seems so dense, thick and inescapable. The dichotomy of the medieval chant and the twelve-tone serialism, both of which Britten was deeply fascinated with and steeped in, provided the juxtaposition of a ceremonial religiousness and a tormented soul. Where the agony seems overwhelming, so is the depth of healing. Britten’s music takes you on the journey of such a transformation.

The Turn of The Screw uses the plot of a psychological thriller to reflect on the loss of innocence (of the children) and the desperation to rescue (of the Governess). The story begins with the journey of a young and pretty Governess to Bly House to care for an orphaned boy and girl. The job entailed the most unusual circumstances, and even though the Governess was captivated by the children’s angelic appearances and demeanours, she quickly received signs that told a different story. What lies beneath the angelic innocence is horror, and where self-righteousness exists is blindness. There is no clear division between innocence and evil, victims and tormentors. Britten incorporates six singing roles and a chamber ensemble of thirteen that consists of a string quintet, a wind quintet, a piano, percussion, and a harp, in the chamber opera of two acts and 16 scenes. The “Theme of Screw” is constructed by twelve-tone series in a deceivingly simple and childish melody. The opera is revealed with each variation as a turning of the screw, each turning deeper into the mystery, the suspended horror and the unsettling revelation.

BenFeng Music Productions is the first to bring a staged performance of The Turn of The Screw to Taiwan, co-presented by Weiwuying National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts. In another first, the groundbreaking opera presents all musicians joining the singers on stage to perform from memory, in the chamber music style with no conductor. As in all of the BenFeng Music Productions, the exploration is not just in the freedom of expressing music in performing art, but also in the freedom of our inner spirit. Because of the relentless exploration, we are bestowed with more clarity of the world we live in and we aspire for it to be. Music and art not as entertainment, but as a way of learning about life.