The turn of the screw

Music by Benjamin Britten
Text by Myfanwy Piper after the story of the same name by Henry James
In English with German surtitles

A governess travels to an English country estate to bring up the two children Miles and Flora on behalf of their guardian. It soon becomes apparent that the two are under the influence of two former employees: Miss Jessel and Mister Flint were once lovers and have died under mysterious circumstances. Back as ghosts, they increasingly take possession of the children. The governess and the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, take up the fight for the children. But then Miles is expelled from school. Are the children not as innocent as they seem? When the governess begins to see eerie apparitions, she slowly loses her sense of what is true and what is not. With its fragmented structure, this enigmatic and impressive chamber opera reflects the protagonist's seemingly fragmentary and possibly distorted perceptions. Each scene casts a different light on the events, which, from the governess's perspective, cannot be assembled into a homogeneous whole, but rather appears like a puzzle with missing pieces.