Peter Pears had been specifically composed for the soprano voice. For Pears, Britten composed one of his most popular works, the Serenade for Tenor, Horn and Strings (1943). In early 1943 Pears joined Sadler's Wells Opera Company. His roles included Tamino in "The Magic Flute", Rodolfo in "La bohème", the Duke in "Rigoletto", Alfredo in "La traviata", Almaviva in "The Barber of Seville", Ferrando in "Così fan tutte" and Vašek in "The Bartered Bride". His growing operatic experience and expertise affected the composition of Britten's opera "Peter Grimes". The composer had envisaged the central figure, based on Crabbe's brutal fisherman, as a
Thomas Grimes Thomas Grimes Sir Thomas Grimes or Grahme was an English politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1614 and 1624. Grimes was the son of Thomas Grimes, citizen and haberdasher of London and of Peckham and his wife Jane Muschamp daughter and co-heir of Thomas Muschamp, of Peckham. He was knighted at Hanworth, Middlesex on 2 June 1603. He was J.P. and Deputy Lieutenant of Surrey. In 1614, he was elected Member of Parliament for Haslemere. He was re-elected MP for Haslemere in 1621. In 1624 he was elected MP for Surrey. Grimes married Margaret, daughter of Sir