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
W. F. Grimes W. F. Grimes William Francis Grimes (known as Peter; 31 October 1905 – 25 December 1988) was a Welsh archaeologist. He devoted his career to the archaeology of London and the prehistory of Wales. He was awarded a CBE in 1955. Grimes was born in Pembroke in Wales. His father was a draughtsman with the Pembroke docks board. He was educated at Pembroke county school and then at Bedford Modern School after his father moved to Bedford to work as a draughtsman on airships. Grimes returned to Wales in 1923 to study Latin at the University College of South Wales