Review: Opera North: Britten: The Turn of the Screw ****

This is a compelling production: challenging, disturbing, oppressive, chillingly relevant.

The Henry James novella on which the work is based raises more questions than it answers, and director Allesandro Talevi relishes the scope for ambiguity in the setting of a country house.

He doesn't always resist it, though. Was the young boy, Miles, the victim of a paedophile? Was the former valet, Quint, the perpetrator? Was Miles's sister, Flora, also corrupted by evil doings? Talevi barely disguises his thoughts.

The figures of Quint and the former governess, Miss Jessell melt in and out of the set. Are they ghosts or projections of the sexual repression of the new governess?

In a series of inventive tableaux, the suggestions are not always subtle.

In a memorable cast, Elizabeth Atherton's psychological fragility as the governess is superbly captured by Elizabeth Atherton. Yvonne Howard is a commanding Mrs Grose and Benjamin Hulett, a fine Quint.

Fflur Wyn sings Flora with great sensitivity, and Giselle Allen is suitably eerie as Miss Jessell.

The loudest applause, however, was reserved for James Micklethwaite, an assured 13-year-old Leeds schoolboy who sings and acts the role of Miles with astonishing insight.

Richard Farnes directs orchestral playing of vivid brilliance.