The Turn of the Screw
Director's Notes

Considered by many to be his best opera, Benjamin Britten’s The Turn of the Screw is an inspiration to work on. First performed at the Venice Biennale in 1954, it is a ghost story concerning Peter Quint, the former valet to a wealthy young estate owner who, along with a governess, Miss Jessel, has been left in charge of the owner’s young nephew and niece, Miles and Flora, whose parents have died. We have been told that Quint and Jessel have died under suspicious circumstances. There are rumors of abuse of both the children and the governess, Miss Jessel (or is she actually one of the perpetrators of the abuse?). The genius of the story comes from the uncertainty of the truth of the accusations leveled at Quint and Jessel by the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose. She claims she saw horrendous things but feared retaliation from Quint. She relates this story to a new, never-named governess who is from a large country family and has no experience of sex, lurid events, or the world. She does, however, possess a strong imagination which spirals out of control, to the extent that she believes she is fighting for the children’s very souls, with disastrous results.

The original story of Turn of the Screw was written in serial form by Henry James and first appeared in 1898. It was, in fact, James’ first success after several spectacular failures. It concerns Freudian self-awareness (James’ brother was a psychiatrist in the Freudian vein) and confronting and admitting to one’s personal demons, even if those demons are intangible. The ghosts in the original novella are never actually seen, they have literally no corporeal form nor do they have contact with any of the other characters. In the opera, however, they are very present, speaking to and interacting directly with Miles and Flora. Mrs. Grose never admits to seeing the ghosts but believes in the governesses sightings, at least initially. The audience is left to wonder if the spirits are real, malevolent beings determined to destroy the children. Freud is floating in the ether of the piece with the governess trying to force the children to admit that they see the ghosts; then and only then (in her mind) will they be able to rediscover their innocence, their true selves.

It is, ultimately, up to the audience to decide what is real and what isn’t. I have directed this opera several times in three different productions. Every time I have received conflicting responses to the question of whether or not the ghosts are real and if they are, are they malevolent beings. Is it the governess who imposes her own naive suspicions on the children, totally alienating one of them and (spoiler alert) destroying the other. Mrs. Grose, ultimately, plants the seeds of the governesses paranoia. Is Mrs. Grose the unwitting villain of the story?
 

I have decided to set the opera in post World War II, a period when England was still reeling from devastation and death. Ghosts abounded, from the imaginary to what many people considered and needed to be very real. The ghosts were a way of coping with the painful reality of massive loss. Severe rationing was still prevalent and the governess, the daughter of a country parson with a substantial number of siblings, must have felt that she had landed in heaven when she arrived at the estate known as Bly. Surrounded by a beautiful home and grounds, two idyllic children, and a motherly, supportive friend in Mrs. Grose, the recent traumas of war, loss, and deprivation seem, initially, in the distant past.

One very personal note: our lighting designer, David Jacques has been with our program since Mo. McMunn and I started teaching here 22 years ago. Even while lighting for the English National Opera, Teatro alla Scala, the San Carlo in Naples, Italy, the San Francisco Opera and many more, he always took the time to return to the USC Opera to design our shows, sometimes acting as both set and lighting designer. We have collaborated on dozens of shows together at USC and in the professional realm. David is officially retiring after this show which is doubly significant in that our first collaboration was The Turn of the Screw at the Chautauqua Opera in 1989. The USC Thornton Opera and I are forever in David’s debt for the care he has taken with our USC productions and the passion for and belief he has shown to our young artists which has brought him back show after show and year after year. Thank you, David. We love you. 

 

—Ken Cazan, Apr. 2026