Peter Grimes – Peter Pears v. Jon Vickers

Britten wrote the part of Peter Grimes for Peter Pears and for twenty years, although other tenors did sing the role, it was considered that Pears brought his unique authority to it. When Jon Vickers first sang it in the late 60s perceptions of the scope of the role changed, for he brought a very different voice and dramatic approach to his interpretation. In this podcast Jon Tolansky and Richard Jarman compare these two readings through performances recorded live in 1957 and 1984.