The Turn of the Screw was written in an incredibly short four months in 1954. Britten had known of Henry James’s novella of the same name (published in 1898) for years and was familiar with it, and so it was a natural fit for his next project. Of particular interest to Britten was crafting the two different musical worlds of the opera; the more straightforward and less complicated music of the mortals in the story contrasts strongly with the atonal but nonetheless strongly compelling atmosphere surrounding the two ghosts.
The opera was commissioned by the Venice Biennale, an international
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The Turn of the Screw guide sections
