Peter Grimes it. Britten, being a native of Suffolk, strongly identified with the tragic story of the Aldeburgh fisherman Peter Grimes. This opera was first conceived while Britten was in California. Happening to read E. M. Forster's article on the 18th-century Suffolk poet George Crabbe in the BBC's magazine "The Listener", he was straight away filled with nostalgic feelings about Suffolk. Pears found a copy of Crabbe's works in a second-hand bookshop and Britten read the poem "The Borough", which contained the tragic story of the Aldeburgh fisherman Peter Grimes. He said later: in a flash I realised two things: that I
Opera North: history and repertoire, seasons 1978–79 to 1980–81 English National Opera North (ENON) was established in late 1977, with Lord Harewood as Managing Director and Graham Marchant as General Administrator. Its first performance (of Saint-Saëns's "Samson et Dalila") was given on 15 November 1978. The opera was conducted by the founding Music Director of the company, David Lloyd-Jones. In the inaugural 1978–79 season, 11 operas were performed. Six were new productions, four of them directed by Patrick Libby, ENON's Director of Productions. The remaining five productions comprised one from Scottish Opera (Colin Graham's "Peter Grimes") and four from ENO. Before the end of the season, the company toured