Fifty years after the death of Benjamin Britten (1913-1976), the Fondazione Teatro di Pisa is staging The Turn of the Screw for the first time in its history. One of the greatest works by the leading English composer of the 20th century, it is the fourth and penultimate title in the 2025/2026 opera season designed by artistic director Marco Tutino.
The libretto, which writer Myfanwy Piper drew from the short story of the same name written by Henry James in 1898, set to sublime music by Britten, will be performed on Friday 27 February (8.30 pm) and Sunday 1 March (3.30 pm) – with a preview for school students on the afternoon of Wednesday 25th – in a new production by Verdi which, directed by Giancarlo Judica Cordiglia, an artistic personality who has made a name for himself in theatre, cinema and TV series, revisits Davide Livermore's original project for the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa (2024-25). The Ensemble Orchestra La Corelli will be in the pit, conducted by Francesco Cilluffo, who is constantly rising in prominence from London to Vienna and is one of today's most highly regarded conductors. The solid Mexican soprano Karen Gardeazabal will play the famous governess sketched by novelist Henry James, while Valentino Buzza will play the role of Peter Quint, the evil spectre of the former servant of the Bly household. The impressive vocal cast is completed by Pierre Lenoir (Miles), Chiara Maria Fiorani (Flora), Amy Payne (Miss Grose) and Marianna Mappa (Miss Jessel). The sets, which transpose the gloomy Gothic atmosphere of James' late 19th-century castle to the 1950s, are designed by Manuel Zuriaga and directed by Eleonora Peronetti, while Mariana Fracasso and Aldo Mantovani are responsible for the sets and costumes respectively.
On Thursday 26th at 6 pm, the Ridotto del Verdi will host the traditional Guide to Opera, in a dialogue with Marco Tutino and Francesco Cilluffo. Admission is free and will be followed by an aperitif offered by the Foundation.
Tickets for the performances on Friday 27 February and Sunday 1 March are on sale at the Theatre Box Office, by telephone (+39 050 941188) and on www.vivaticket.it.
The Turn of the Screw - in the new production by the Teatro Verdi in collaboration with the Teatro Nazionale di Genova, Teatro Carlo Felice di Genova and Palau de les Arts Reina Sofia di Valéncia - explores the opera from the unusual perspective of prose, in a continuous dialogue between the two worlds, thanks to the direction of Davide Livermore, a leading name on the world artistic scene.
Written by Henry James in 1898, The Turn of the Screw is a story of ghosts and unspeakable secrets accompanied by a subtle psychological investigation. A television set, present on stage from the prologue onwards, immediately sets the tone for Davide Livermore's innovative staging, which transposes the Victorian atmosphere of James' original work to the 1950s. Like a new “fireplace” around which ghost stories were told, the television set is a tribute and reference to 1954, the year Britten composed the work – the year Rai began television broadcasts – and a reference to The Innocents (released in Italy under the title Suspense), the 1961 film directed by Jack Clayton and starring Deborah Kerr in a gothic and frightening setting. The stage set, which creates a labyrinthine architecture, completes the spectral dimension of the story, which describes the obscene game of evil.
An opera in a prologue and two acts, composed in 1954 on commission from the Teatro La Fenice in Venice for the Biennale di Musica Contemporanea, The Turn of the Screw is Britten's redemption opera which, after the failure of Gloriana (the only one in his career), will definitively consign him to history.
A young governess must take care of Flora and Miles, the two orphaned grandchildren of a man who makes her promise not to contact him for any reason. Soon, after a series of events, she realises that they are under the evil influence of the ghosts of Quint, the servant, who is looking for a spirit to subjugate, and Miss Jessel, the previous governess, who is eager to find a soul to make suffer as she did. The governess notices the apparitions and is terrified. Distraught, she decides to leave, but after a terrifying encounter with Miss Jessel, she decides to stay and sends a letter to the children's guardian asking to see him. She also informs Miles of this, but he, manipulated by Quint, steals the letter. When the theft is discovered, the governess tries to make the child confess, but he strenuously resists her pressure, influenced by the demonic servant. In the end, Miles admits to the theft in a dramatic crescendo that leads to his death.
THE TURN OF THE SCREW (IL GIRO DI VITE)
Teatro Verdi in Pisa, 27 February at 8:30 p.m. and 1 March 2026 at 3:30 p.m.
Opera in a prologue and two acts
Libretto by Myfanwy Piper from the short story of the same name by Henry James
Music by Benjamin Britten
Published by Boosey & Hawkes, London | represented in Italy by Casa Ricordi, Milan
Characters and Performers
PROLOGUE Davide Livermore (recorded voice)
PETER QUINT Valentino Buzza
THE GOVERNESS Karen Gardeazabal
MILES Pierre Lenoir
FLORA Chiara Maria Fiorani
MISS GROSE Amy Payne
MISS JESSEL Marianna Mappa
Conductor Francesco Cilluffo
Director Davide Livermore (revived by Giancarlo Judica Cordiglia)
Set Design Manuel Zuriaga (revived by Eleonora Peronetti)
Costume Design Mariana Fracasso
Lighting Designer Aldo Mantovani
Corelli Orchestra Ensemble
New production by the Teatro Verdi in Pisa
in collaboration with the Teatro Nazionale in Genoa, the Teatro Carlo Felice in Genoa and the Palau de Les Arts Reina Sofía in Valencia
