Sun 25 Jul, 2021
Marking the centenary of Henry James’s death, Euphonia Opera presents a concert performance of the Tower Scene (Act I, scene 4), ‘How beautiful it is’, from Benjamin Britten’s operatic realisation of The Turn of the Screw (1898- 1954). Here, the Governess strolling in the evening catches a glimpse of Peter Quint, and first realises that there is a profound mystery wrapping the inhabitants at Bly. James’s interest in hallucinatory, uncanny, and supernatural subjects can be regarded a foil to the work of his brother, eminent philosopher of psychology and inventor of ‘stream of consciousness’, William James. Henry James was ambivalent about the rise of women mediums, seeing this as part of a larger growth of feminism. We consider this context in the light of the astounding abstract works from the 1860s – 1870s by artist and medium Georgiana Houghton.
A full production of the opera takes place at the Rye Festival 17 September 2016. Members of the cast will deliver a schools workshop contextualising the work for Rye Studio School in collaboration with Dr Charlotte de Mille and The Courtauld’s Art History For All London programme.
Josephine Goddard (Soprano)
Alisdair Kitchen (Piano)
Curated by Dr Charlotte de Mille (Speaker)