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 in 1959, and he became the third husband of Audrey Williams. She bestowed on him the nickname Peter. They retired to her home in Brynmill in Swansea in 1973. After Audrey died in 1978, he was remarried to Mrs Molly Waverley Sholto Douglas in 1980. He suffered from Parkinson's disease in later life, and died at home in Swansea. He was cremated, and his ashes were scattered at Pwlldu Bay on the Gower Peninsula, where the ashes of his second wife Audrey had also been scattered. W. F. Grimes William Francis Grimes (known as Peter; 31 October 1905 – 25