Benjamin Britten coast close to Britten's homeland, awakened in him such longings for England that he knew he must return. He also knew that he must write an opera based on Crabbe's poem about the fisherman Peter Grimes. Before Britten left the US, Koussevitzky, always generous in encouraging new talent, offered him a $1,000 commission to write the opera. Britten and Pears returned to England in April 1942. During the long transatlantic sea crossing Britten completed the choral works "A Ceremony of Carols" and "Hymn to St Cecilia". The latter was his last large-scale collaboration with Auden. Britten had grown away from
Violet (opera) November 2005 at Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London, directed by Tess Gibbs and conducted by Clive Timms. Scruton is better known as a writer and philosopher, and is largely self-taught as a composer. "Violet" is the second of Scruton's two operas – it was preceded by the one-act "The Minister" (1998). According to The Times' critic Hilary Finch, Scruton's first opera was influenced by Benjamin Britten, whereas according to a review by David Conway, "Violet" is influenced by Janáček, a composer Scruton is known to admire. The score includes a number of references to music of other