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
Opera in the Heights Opera in the Heights Opera in the Heights is a non-profit, regional opera company, which is housed in the historic Lambert Hall at 1703 Heights Boulevard in Houston, Texas. Opera in the Heights held its first Gala Opera Evening, a Fledermaus Party, in Lambert Hall on April 12, 1996. A few days later, an arsonist set fire to Lambert Hall, having poured flammables onto the piano and the backstage storage. A neighbor saw the fire in the early morning, and called the fire department, which arrived in minutes and saved the building. Opera in the Heights held its next performance,