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 in June 1945 the opera was hailed by public and critics; its box-office takings matched or exceeded those for "La bohème" and "Madame Butterfly", which were being staged concurrently by the company. Its American premiere was given in 1946 at Tanglewood by Koussevitzky's pupil, Leonard Bernstein. "Peter Grimes" has been produced many times at the Royal Opera House. The first was in 1947, conducted by Karl Rankl and with Peter Pears, Joan Cross and Edith Coates reprising their roles from the Sadler's Wells premiere. The most recent was in 2011 with Andrew Davis conducting, and starring Ben Heppner, Amanda Roocroft