Britten’s first screamer
RIPFrom a Guardian reader’s obituary:
My friend Valerie West, who has died aged 94, had a long and distinguished career in the theatre, first in stage management for opera and ballet at the Sadler’s Wells theatre and later for the British Council….
She took her first job as secretary and assistant stage manager at Sadler’s Wells, which reopened after the war in June 1945 with the premiere of Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes. During the opera’s run, Val provided the scream for the apprentice, who had lost his voice. For this she was personally auditioned by Britten.
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