London - Event

David McVicar's acclaimed Mariinsky Theatre production of Britten's musical distillation of horror The Turn of the Screw returns to English National Opera's repertoire at the London Coliseum. Conductor Sir Charles Mackerras joins the production's four original principal cast members.

The Turn of the Screw is set in a remote country house in rural Essex, where Rebecca Evans' Governess comes to look after two children, Miles and Flora. When she finds that they are being influenced by the apparitions of the house's former servants - Peter Quint (Timothy Robinson) and Miss Jessel (Cheryl Baker) - she vows to defeat the evil, with the help of housekeeper Mrs Grose (Ann Murray).

A classic of post-war opera, and perhaps the scariest opera ever composed, Britten's chamber opera is based on Henry James' novella, with a libretto by Myfanwy Piper. Its pared down score includes 15 variations on a theme that occurs in the interludes between the eight scenes of each act, representing the titular turn of the screw. It was commissioned by the first Venice Biennale in 1954 and starred Peter Pears as Peter Quint, before being seen at Sadler's Wells later that year.

Sir Charles Mackerras is in his ninth decade, of which he has been conducting for over 60 years. He makes a welcome return to the London Coliseum having led the company over the period of its move from Sadler's Wells to the Coliseum. Whether in Handel, Mozart, Janácek or Britten, Mackerras is one of the great interpreters of our age. Martin Fitzpatrick conducts the final performance (9 November).