The Ohio State Opera Theatre to host production of “The Turn of the Screw,” starring Skye Johnston as “the governess” and Connor Bruce as “Miles.” Courtesy of Konner Barr
The Ohio State Opera Theatre will present “The Turn of the Screw,” an opera production based on the 1898 gothic horror novella of the same name by Henry James, this upcoming weekend.
Three performances will be held at Weigel Auditorium — located at 1866 College Road N. — Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 3 p.m. Admission is free, though attendees are encouraged to donate “books, audiobooks on CD and DVDs” to the Columbus Metropolitan Library in lieu of purchasing a ticket, according to the Ohio State School of Music website.
“The Turn of the Screw” follows an unnamed governess caring for two children in a secluded English manor, but the scenario turns dire as ghosts begin to haunt the home and torment the characters, said Eric Gibson, visiting assistant professor of music and the opera’s director. He said composer Benjamin Britten adapted the tale into an opera in the 1950s.
Skye Johnson, a first-year graduate student in vocal performance who stars as the governess, said the show revolves around how audience members interpret the story and fill in the blanks themselves.
“They can come to their own conclusion about what is happening inside this house,” Johnson said. “Some believe the ghosts are real and that the governess is a victim. Other readings have the governess as a sort of villain where it’s all in her head.”
Gibson said he feels the production is a hallmark of 20th-century, modern opera. He said the music is a key factor in the show’s lasting success, as its combination of performers’ high soprano and tenor voices — along with a small orchestra comprising just 18 musicians — creates a distinctly eerie atmosphere.
“All the instruments are solo; they’re not playing in a section,” Gibson said. “By using just a few instruments, it’s able to evoke an almost out-of-this-world, ethereal, spooky sound.”
Gibson said unlike many operas traditionally sung in Italian, German or French, “The Turn of the Screw” is performed in English, making it more accessible for an Ohio State audience.
“Britten is one of those composers that sets words very well,” Gibson said. “[English] is a hard language to sing in, especially if it’s too high or fast; sometimes, you can’t understand all the words, but the way this has been set to the music, it’s very expert in that you can get most of the text.”
Despite this irregularity, Johnson said the music still guides the audience through the story like it does in most major operas.
“The music is all tied together with a common theme,” Johnson said. “When the music changes, you can tell when something is about to happen or if a decision has been made.”
Johnson said one of the show’s central themes is the battle between good and evil, and whether it’s truly black and white. She said the intentionally unsettling set design helps convey this theme to viewers.
“We use plastic to represent the veil between the ghost world and the living,” Johnson said. “There’s grayness and ambiguity. Everything is slightly unclean.”
In addition, Gibson said the set’s furniture has been carefully painted to give it a “dreamlike” appearance.
“All the wood has been painted different shades of gray, and then we overlaid it with a little bit of red, almost to make it look like everything’s bleeding,” Gibson said.
Johnson said at its core, the show is about how we confront the past.
“It’s about the difference between letting go of the past and letting it take over,” Johnson said.
For more information about the production, visit Ohio State’s School of Music webpage.
