BENJAMIN Britten was persuaded to tone down his first interpretation of the Suffolk fisherman Peter Grimes.

The brutal hero was replaced with a character more isolated and misunderstood than violent.

As such the audience can still find sympathy for Grimes, a yearning to reach out and persuade him to accommodate and fit in with a community that will, inevitably, inexorably, destroy him.

Britten’s great masterpiece, written in part as a longing for his native England after isolation in the USA, has opened this year’s Grange Park Opera season. With its images of child cruelty and threats of mob violence, the 70-year-old masterpiece strikes a surprising chord with the concerns of today’s society.

The part-ruined neo-classic stately home near Alresford provides a stunning venue for a production that surrounds and envelops the audience – a sea fog of wonderful sound and vision that draws you in until you are lost in its sheer exuberance.

Carl Tanner is Grimes. The celebrated American tenor is wonderful in the role. Fellow national Georgia Jarman plays Ellen Orford, the fisherman’s childhood love and one hope for salvation.

Directed by Jeremy Sams, this is a huge production in an intimate setting. Francis O’Conner’s stage design is sensational, working with powerful video backdrops to place both cast and audience always at the edge of the temperamental sea; sometimes calm benefactor, all too often raging and violent.

The combined effect does not falter, its stunning pinnacle no doubt the climatic riot scene where elements and humanity combine with powerful menace. Breathtaking.

The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra are tremendous, conducted by Stephen Barlow.

Peter Grimes is one of four operas being staged this season at Grange Park, the others being Tchaikovsky’s Queen of Spades, Verdi’s La Traviata, and Massenet’s Don Quichotte.

After each performance Grange Park house remains open for guests to enjoy live music and drinks in a stunning setting.