Operatic treatments of the supernatural are nothing new, but few modern works command the fear and reverence that Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw does. The opera, based on Henry James's ghost story, follows a governess who arrives at an English country house only to discover that the spirits of two dead servants are haunting the children in her care.
In this Victorian Opera staging, conductor Paul Kildea, described as perhaps the Australian conductor most knowledgeable about Britten, led the reduced Orchestra Victoria with superb guidance through the score, which the composer wrote for just 13 instruments.
Lead performers Rachelle Durkin (the Governess) and Kanen Breen (Peter Quint) were praised. Durkin delivered a self-assured, impressive vocal performance, more maternal than hysterical. Breen used his sharp, cold voice and lithe physicality to heighten Quint's menace, though the reviewer noted he was burdened with an unflattering wig that contradicted the character's description as handsome.
However, the production's choice of the Palais Theatre proved problematic. The huge set and vast stage dwarf the drama, with singers often far apart and the audience equally distant. The reviewer wrote that detachment creates a disconnect that does not serve some excellent performances. Given that Britten's opera is a chamber work designed for intimate spaces, the scale of the venue detracted from the potentially Shining-level unnerving atmosphere. Amusingly, the muffled screams from the adjacent Luna Park added to the drama rather than detracting.
Also noted in the same review is the theatre production Koreaboo at Malthouse, which draws from lived experience.