A moving immediacy and directness: British Youth Opera in Britten’s Peter Grimes with Mark Le Brocq in the title role

Britten: Peter Grimes; Mark Le Brocq, Emma Bell, Mark Stone, Eugene Dillon-Hooper, Matthew Bawden, Rhian Davies, Oliver Heuzenroeder, Justin Jacobs, Caitlin MacKenzie, Joshua McCullough, director: Will Kerley, Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus, Harry Sever, British Youth Opera; Cadogan Hall
Reviewed 6 July 2025

British Youth Opera dares Britten’s dramatic masterpiece and creates not only a terrific evening in the theatre, but one of the most memorable performances of the opera that I have come across.

The large-scale operatic drama of Britten’s Peter Grimes might not seem the most obvious vehicle for the young singers of British Youth Opera (BYO). Yet in collaboration with the Cambridge Philharmonic along with the participation of a trio of well-established singers, they brought off a staging of the work which had remarkable impact and immediacy.

There was also a real sense of community about event. Not only did BYO involve some 22 young professionals with singers and covers, music staff, and members of the Serena Fenwick Programmes for stage managers, conductors and directors, but the orchestra and chorus were provided by the non-professional Cambridge Philharmonic under their music director Harry Sever (himself still under 35). 

We caught the performance at London’s Cadogan Hall on Sunday 6 July 2025. Britten’s Peter Grimes was directed by Will Kerley, with Harry Sever conducting the Cambridge Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus. Mark Le Brocq was Peter Grimes, Emma Bell was Ellen Orford and Mark Stone was Balstrode, with another guest artist, Eugene Dillon-Hooper as Swallow, plus BYO members Matthew Bawden as Rev Adams, Rhian Davies as Mrs Sedley, Oliver Heuzenroeder as Ned Keene, Jessica Hopkins and Anusha Merrin as the Nieces, Justin Jacobs as Bob Boles, Caitlin Mackenzie as Auntie and Joshua McCullough as Hobson. Designs were by Millie Richmond.

The production used the full space of the Cadogan Hall. The chorus was seated on both sides of the balcony overlooking the stage, with the orchestra filling the rear of the stage. There was nothing reduced about the orchestra either, with 48 strings along with the full complement of woodwind, brass and percussion and even an on-stage band. 

The acting area was inevitably somewhat reduced, at the front of the stage. For the first scene Will Kerley’s production seemed to be overly artful. The singers in concert dress, seated at music stands, and as each character was called forward to address the inquest the singer stood up, identifying themselves. Yet, at the end of the scene, the singers dressed themselves in period (circa 1950s) costumes in full view of the audience. For significant portions of the subsequent action, the singers were seated in chairs to the sides of the acting area, with Mark Stone and Emma Bell on a platform behind. Whilst Stone’s Bulstrode was full part of the production as was Mark Le Brocq’s Grimes alongside the younger singers, Emma Bell’s Ellen Orford remained on her platform, seated, knitting and watching when not part of the scene.

There were other stylised elements. The apprentice was performed by a puppet, manipulated by three of the nieces (the roles were double cast). Before the show started there was a film projected above the stage, mixing visuals of Aldeburgh with quotes from participants in the first performance of the opera, and then film (created, I think by designer Millie Richmond) was projected during the sea interludes. 

Perhaps the most significant musical manifestation of this approach was during Grimes’ mad scene in Act Three. Here the soloist stood to the side of the stage, with Mark Le Brocq stage centre, and Harry Sever turned to face the audience and conducted, the ‘off-stage’ chorus sung as a vocal ensemble by the soloists. This, along with the fact that other ‘off-stage’ effects like the church service in Act Two were done on stage, gave these moments great presence.

For all this artfulness, the production also had a marvellous directness and intimacy. Kerley and Richmond staged it loosely in the 1950s but there seemed to be no axe to grind, they told the story. And, even with his reduced staging facilities, Kerley dared everything, nothing was shirked and some of the dramatic moments like the second half of Act Two had a marvellous impact because the means were so simple. And when Grimes had a vision of the dead apprentices, even this was included.

What the production did was form a superb setting for Mark Le Brocq’s marvellously communicative Grimes. Having heard him as Aschenbach in Death in Venice with WNO last year [see my review] it was wonderful to get to hear him exploring a role from the other end of Britten’s career. For ‘The Great Bear’ sequence in Act One and the Mad Scene in Act Three, Le Brocq found a magical head voice that seduced in just the right way, conveying the mystical sense that is part of Grimes. But there is also a dramatic edge to Le Brocq’s voice, bringing out Grimes’ anger and frustration. 

This was not a soft-edged, sympathetic performance, in many ways Le Brocq’s Grimes was not likeable, but we completely understood and by the end we sympathised. It helped that in the climactic scene of Act Two when people of The Borough turn on Ellen Orford and Grimes, the staging really maximised the impact that working with such a restricted space brought, creating something thrilling and disturbing. There was one element which intrigued and perhaps didn’t work so well, needing a fuller staging to explore and that was the idea of Peter Grimes as a Christ-like figure. In Act One, when Grimes brings his ship ashore he carries the mast, and Richmond’s design made the mast with a cross piece into a cross-like image which was used at various other times in the production including in that climactic scene at the end of Act One. Luckily, Kerley didn’t have the will, budget or rehearsal time to work this to death.

In recent years, Emma Bell has moved her focus from Handel and Mozart to Wagner, yet she brought a warm lyricism to Ellen Orford yet singing without effort when the part called for heft. It is worthwhile remembering here, that Joan Cross, the first Ellen Orford, was a notable Marschallin and Sieglinde. The staging meant that Bell’s Ellen was somewhat disjunct from the action, but there was never anything uninvolving. Bell conveyed a sense of warm concern and intimate connection to Peter Grimes. Her big solo in Act Two was marvellously done, a sense of ease to the musical line combined with intensity, whilst there was a fine-grained sense of detail to the Embroidery Aria in Act Three that can often be missing. 

Mark Stone’s Bulstrode was impressive in a number of ways. A direct and very communicative singer, here Stone made Bulstrode brusque and rough-edged yet with an underlying sense of community and sympathy. At the same time, Stone was part of the ensemble with the younger singers and there was never any sense of ‘distinguished guest’, he was a member of the ensemble. Having the audience so close meant that Stone was able to project a great deal of detail as well as bringing out the words.

Eugene Dillon-Hooper was the fourth guest artist. A young singer himself, Dillon-Hooper sang Swallow with remarkable gravity and effectiveness. Matthew Bawden was a wonderfully characterful Rev Adams, making far more impact here than in some busier productions and we even saw him singing the service in Act Two. His Rev Adams was remarkably self-regarding and distinctly unpleasant! Oliver Heuzenroeder was a handsome Ned Keene, and he knew it. At the slightest opportunity this Ned Keen would preen himself, concerned more at the effect he was having than in genuinely interacting. Heuzenroeder projected the role with a softer edge than sometimes, so that occasionally he lacked vividness but there was no doubting his musicality. Justin Jacobs was a terrific Bob Boles, made all the more vivid by the fact that though Jacobs projected the full range of the character’s weird intensity, it never felt overdone. Jacobs seemed to have a knack for grasping the real theatricality of the role, and as a singing actor I would love to hear his talents used again. Joshua McCullough’s Hobson was another vividly drawn character, with McCullough bring out the role without ever seeming to overly stand out.

Rhian Davies brought remarkable theatricality to Mrs Sedley. The role lies low and distinguished mezzo-sopranos can struggle to convey the full nastiness of the lady, but here Davies used her full range of musical and dramatic skills to make this Mrs Sedley count. Caitlin Mackenzie made a finely drawn Auntie, managing to mix the sympathetic and unsympathetic elements to her in a nice mix. Occasionally we were aware of Mackenzie’s youth (she completed her MMus at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland this year), but she never forced and impressed with the way she used her resources so effectively. You feel this is a role she will grow into.

Jessica Hopkins and Anusha Merrin were the two nieces, contrasting yet a well-drawn pair and certainly not as negligible as can sometimes happen. The two women also had an extra role as they joined with one of the alternative cast nieces (Binny Supin Yang or Michelle Cheun Tsz Yau) to manipulate the puppet apprentice. This was more than just manipulation as they reacted for him as well, their facial expressions conveying much.

Lacking any special lighting effects or any other theatrical drama, Emma Bell, Caitlin Mackenzie, Jessica Hopkins and Anusha Merrin came together for a marvellously music and intimate account of the quartet in Act Two.

Though remaining in the gallery and not part of the action, the chorus brought a vivid sense of community and participation to their contributions. And having such a large body of singers was a great luxury in this work. Their ‘off-stage’ contributions in Acts Two and Three had a real presence to them which contributed to the effect. A remarkable amount of work had clearly gone into the preparations for the performance (the chorus was prepared by Jeremy Summerly) and the result showed impressively.

Harry Sever clear has a strong rapport with his orchestra, because there was never any point in the proceedings when you felt that the orchestra dominated too much. Concert performances of big dramatic operas with the orchestra on stage can be a challenge, yet here Sever and his forces were supportive and characterful without being over done. I rather liked the sharp edges that he encouraged his players to bring to the orchestral interludes, these were a lot less comfortable than some.

Rather than feeling too much for the space, the production successfully harnessed the size of Cadogan Hall to present Peter Grimes with a moving immediacy and directness. Kerley’s production successfully told the story with few, if any, axes to grin and aided by intensely musical performances from all under Sever’s direction. They created not only a memorable evening in the theatre, but one of the most memorable performances of the opera that I have come across.