Peter Grimes is considered part of the standard repertoire. In addition, the "Four Sea Interludes", consisting of the first, third, fifth and second interludes from the opera, were published separately (as Op. 33a) and are frequently performed as an orchestral suite. The fourth interlude, the Passacaglia was also published separately (as Op. 33b), and is also often performed, either together with the "Sea Interludes" or by itself. In 1941, shortly after the first performance of his opera "Paul Bunyan", Britten and his partner Peter Pears went to stay at Escondido, California. There they read the poem by Crabbe and were struck by
Peter Grimes the scene changes. At the hut, Grimes impatiently drives the ever silent John into changing out of his Sunday clothes and into fisherman's gear, and then becomes lost in his memories of his previous, now dead apprentice, reliving the boy's death of thirst. When he hears the mob of villagers approaching, he quickly comes back to reality, stirred both by a paranoid belief that John has been "gossiping" with Ellen, so provoking the "odd procession", and at the same time feeling defiant. He gets ready to set out to sea, and he tells John to be careful climbing down the