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
Gassaway Sellman Grimes Gassaway Sellman Grimes Gassaway Sellman Grimes (November 16, 1816 – July 3, 1875) was a physician who practiced in Maryland for several years. Dr. G. S. Grimes was born on November 16, 1816 in Maryland to Cornelius Grimes, who served in the War of 1812, and Elizabeth Sellman. He attended the old Barnesville Academy. Grimes graduated from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 1838. Grimes married Susan H. Dorsey on June 25, 1839 in Frederick County, Maryland, a descendant of Edward Dorsey. By 1840 he moved to Carroll County, Maryland. Grimes was once part of a convention in