Pauline Adamek
Benjamin Britten’s chilling mid-century opera The Turn of the Screw is a haunting psychological thriller that transforms Henry James’ ghost story into an intense chamber opera of ambiguity and dread. With its spare instrumentation and recurring twelve-note theme, Britten builds an atmosphere of mounting tension as innocence, repression, and supernatural menace intertwine. The opera’s power lies in its uncertainty. We’re never sure if the ghosts are real or simply projections of the unraveling mind of our inexperienced and fanciful Governess. The resulting story delivers an unsettling portrayal of childhood corruption and adult obsession. Visually and musically stark, it grips audiences by forcing them to confront the thin line between reality and delusion.
The Turn of the Screw is famous for its masterful blend of psychological depth, musical innovation, and eerie atmosphere. Benjamin Britten’s use of a 12-note theme to structure the entire opera was groundbreaking, giving the score an unsettling, obsessive quality that mirrors the story’s descent into madness. It’s also renowned for the way it turns Henry James’s ghost tale into a chilling study of innocence, authority, and desire, leaving audiences unsure whether the supernatural events are real or imagined. The opera’s intimate scale, emotional intensity, and ambiguity have made it one of Britten’s most acclaimed and frequently performed works.
The Turn of the Screw premiered in 1954. Britten composed it that year for the Venice Biennale, where it was first performed on 14 September 1954 at the Teatro La Fenice. The libretto was written by Myfanwy Piper, based on Henry James’s 1898 novella.
Opera UCLA, a collaboration between The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music and the UCLA School of Theatre, Film and Television launches its 2025-26 season with Benjamin Britten’s psychological thriller The Turn of the Screw.
Based on Henry James’s chilling novella, this spellbinding opera plunges audiences into a world where nothing is as it seems. A young governess arrives at a remote country estate to care for two seemingly angelic children, but soon finds herself ensnared in a battle for their souls. Are the children innocent victims, or instruments of a darker force? Britten’s razor-sharp score tightens its grip with every turn, driving the tension to a shattering, breathless climax.
Directed by GRAMMY Award–nominated director and newly appointed Opera UCLA director James Darrah, this production showcases students from the voice program at The UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music. The music will be performed under the direction of Rakefet Hak.
Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw
Performances:
Thursday, November 20, 2025, at 7:30PM
Friday, November 21, 2025, at 7:30PM
Sunday, November 23, 2025, at 2:00PM
FREUD PLAYHOUSE in Macgowan Hall
UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television
245 Charles E. Young Dr. East, Los Angeles, CA 90024
Tickets:
The performance is free and open to the public. RSVP is recommended.
To RSVP, visit their eventbrite page.
