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Peter Grimes’s dead apprentices float like watery ghosts over the stage. Benjamin Britten’s ambivalent protagonist is a soul tormented by inner demons. Dutch National Opera’s new production of the opera in Amsterdam exonerates Grimes comprehensively, delivering a narrative of nightmarish communal violence. As director Barbora Horáková tells it, the new apprentice is bruised by youthful bullies, not by his rough master; and he falls to his death entirely on his own, at a moment when Grimes has his back turned.

Half the strength of Britten’s Peter Grimes (1945) lies in its ambiguity. Is the tormented outsider complicit in the demise of his young apprentices? By leaving us to make our own conclusions, Britten confronts us with our own preconceptions and bigotry. Although Horáková’s production is abstract, taking place in a black void with only the most minimal sets (Eva-Maria van Acker), she spells out many details. By the time angry villagers drive Grimes to his death, we have been shown his innocence.

This is a darkly intense staging, busy but stark. If it seems a little relentless, that is also at least partly the fault of conductor Lorenzo Viotti, whose volume knob seems permanently stuck between “loud” and “very loud”. There is precious little nuance, no sense of architecture, and no reverie, which is a remarkable achievement in a score that boasts so much of all of these things. Viotti is both rough and technically weak; you can hear chorus and orchestra struggle to stay together. 

Issachah Savage, who was to have sung the title role, was taken ill at the 11th hour, leaving John Findon with the Herculean task of memorising a staging that had taken five weeks to make in just one night. He does so commendably, delivering a moving Grimes with a capacity to express both the brutality and the poetry inherent to his character. Johanni van Oostrum has just the right combination of aching lyricism and maternal warmth for the part of Ellen Orford, Leigh Melrose brings complexity and anguish to the part of Captain Balstrode, and the smaller parts are excellently cast. 

In all, this is a passable retelling of a magnificent opera, but there are no revelations, and the evening often drags.

★★★☆☆

To October 22, operaballet.nl

A HISTORIC city brewery with a legacy spanning 150 years is set to close, putting 97 jobs at risk.

The Carlsberg Marston’s Brewing Company (CMBC) has confirmed plans to close Wolverhampton’s Banks’s Brewery.

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The historic Chapel Ash site – which opened in 1875 – could shut for the final time in the autumn of next year.

CMBC blames a decline in cask ale volumes and Mahou San Miguel’s decision not to renew its licence partnership from 2025.

The site’s planned closure doesn’t automatically mean the end of Bank’s branded beer.

For now, customers can still enjoy the tipple as usual.

However, it remains unclear if production will continue at another facility after the Bank’s brewery shuts down.

CMBC did retain the Hobgoblin brand by moving production to a new facility following the closure of its Wychwood Brewery last November.

Campaign for Real Ale (Camra) has demanded that Banks’s beer must continue to be brewed at the Marston’s Brewery site in Burton.

In its statement, CMBC said it was supporting colleagues across its wider network impacted by the proposals, including the 97 employees at its Wolverhampton brewery.

Paul Davies, chief executive of CMBC, said: “This has been an extremely difficult decision, however it has been necessary to restructure our business to maintain our competitiveness in a challenging UK beer market.

“The team at Banks’s has been unwavering in its dedication and commitment to the brewery. We will ensure that we support all our people closely throughout this extremely challenging period.”

As part of the network restructuring, CMBC will increase investment in its breweries in Northampton and Burton, with the long-term aim of establishing Marston’s Brewery in Burton as a “national centre for craft beer and traditional ale brewing in the UK”.

CMBC will invest more than £6 million in significant new projects at its brewery in Burton, including the refurbishment of its cask ale line, and invest in a new logistics depot in the Black Country region.

Mr Corbett-Collins, the national chairman of the Camra has described the planned closure as “devastating but predictable” news for British brewing.

In July, Carlsberg announced plans to buy out UK pub-group Marston’s from their CMBC venture in a deal worth £206million.

CMBC proposed Bank’s brewery closure isn’t the first in recent years.

Last year, it closed the world-renowned Wychwood Brewery – famed for Hobgoblin Ale.

The factory in Witney, Oxfordshire, shut in November 2023.

Its six staff – who had a combined 100 years of brewing experience.

Hobgoblin ales, as well as Wychwood brands Firecatcher and Dry Neck beers, are now brewed at CMBC’s other sites.

The drinks giant also closed Ringwood Brewery and shop at the start of the year, saying there was “no viable path forward”.

The Temperance Street Brewery in Manchester shut up shop last year after more than a decade of trading.

The tap room, located on the outskirts of the city centre, closed less than a year after it was taken over by new owners.

It was put up for sale after the firm said its location in a residential area made expansion a challenge, but no buyer was found.

COST OF LIVING PRESSURES

The number of craft breweries in the UK fell from 1,828 at the start of 2023 to 1,815 at the start of the year.

That now stands at 1,748 according to the latest figures up to June from the Society of Independent Brewers and Associates (SIBA).

The SIBA UK Brewery Tracker takes into account all brewery openings and closures to give an accurate picture of the number of active brewing businesses.

Craft breweries have been hit hard by the cost of living crisis and the pandemic.

While many producers pivoted to home deliveries during covid lockdowns, they were then hit by rising costs combined with people reigning ion their spending.

The prices of energy, rents and ingredients have all shot up. They have also faced higher interest rates when borrowing money to grow the business.

SIBA chief executive Andy Slee said when the latest figures on closures were published in July: “Independent brewers are reporting good sales growth and strong consumer demand, yet breweries continue to close.

“For most breweries the challenge is financial pressures from rising costs and market access, as well as lingering Covid debt – something SIBA has strongly lobbied Government for help on.”

The Campaign for Real Ale’s (CAMRA) warned about the pressures on the drinks business this week as it published its Good Beer Guide 2025.

It said that many of the breweries that featured in last years guide have now closed and cited a “perfect storm” ofthe tax burden, few viable routes to market and stubbornly high energy bills among the factors.

CAMRA Chairman Ash Corbett-Collins said: “This year’s edition of the Good Beer Guide shows a brewing trade that continues to face huge challenges, but one that beer and pub lovers across the UK are still rallying behind.

“CAMRA will be lobbying this new Government to show their support for independent breweries, to try and ensure that the Good Beer Guide 2026 is brimming with new establishments.”

As well as CMBC’s closure of Wychwood and Ringwood, it said the loss of Elland Brewery just months after its 1872 porter was crowned CAMRA’s Champion Beer of Britain 2023 and the award-winning Nottingham-base Navigation Brewery was “tragic” and a blow for the local community.

Last week, The Fourpure brewing company was placed into administration to “protect itself from market pressures”.

Administration is when all control of a company is passed to an appointed licensed insolvency practitioner.

It doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the business.

Instead, administrators will try to help a company find ways to repay debts or solve its cashflow problems.

Its beers, such as Pomegranate IPA and Juiced Mango and Raspberry, are stocked in major supermarkets like Tesco, Asda, Waitrose and Ocado.

However, it’s not all bad news, an iconic 90s beer will return to UK pubs after 30 years.

Announcing the come back on Instagram, Allsopp’s Beer revealed Double Diamond is set to make a return.

BRITS are facing paying “hundreds of pounds more” for their family holidays abroad, a travel company boss has warned.

EasyJet Holidays chief executive Garry Wilson cited confusing new environmental fees being introduced by airlines and tour operators.

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He said that failing to demonstrate a “direct link” between the money raised and sustainability schemes would reduce bookings.

Spain, Greece and Tunisia are among locations popular with UK tourists which charge green taxes or have plans to introduce them.

In an interview at the annual convention of travel trade organisation
Abta in Costa Navarino, Greece, Mr Wilson said many destinations which suffered huge losses due to coronavirus travel restrictions decided that tourists should pay “this fee and that fee and the next fee”.

He said: “They’re named the ‘green tax‘ or ‘climate resilience’ or
whatever it might be.

“Whilst I understand the ethos, (we need to) understand what you’re doing with that money.”

Mr Wilson said it was “understandable” if taxes were introduced with a “direct link” to initiatives such as installing systems that automatically switch off air-conditioning and electric sockets when hotel rooms are empty.

He warned that if the money just goes into a “big pot” then holidaymakers will think it is just another way of operators making extra money from them.

Mr Wilson said taxes were “going up and up and up when it comes to travel”.

He added: “There has to be real thought put into what impact this is
going to have on demand.

“The way it’s being treated at the moment by a lot of destinations
isn’t necessarily helping build confidence and demand.”

A survey commissioned by Abta, which spoke to 2,000 UK adults, indicated that 38 per cent of people believed it was the responsibility of travel companies to manage the impact holidays had on the environment and local residents, rather than their own.

Some 22 per cent disagreed with the statement, while 40 per cent were neutral.

What does this mean for British holidaymakers?

Here’s why I think it’s bad news for holidaymakers as well as the travel industry.

YOU’VE saved up all year for that precious family holiday. You’re travelling at the most expensive time of year. 

So it’s just a further kick in the teeth to find the price you paid ISN’T the final amount when you check into your hotel and discover tourist taxes imposed by our favourite Med destinations are an unexpected and unwelcome extra bill.

 Spain, Greece and Tunisia are just three who have increased the daily tourist tax – often justified by saying the money raised will help fight climate change and to enable destinations to become greener.

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 But holidaymakers need to see the proof – just where is the money raised going?

Often dressed up with very oblique language – the hotel I am currently staying in charges a €10-a-day ‘Climate Resilience Fee’ – these charges do nothing to encourage us to make more sustainable choices.

But what it could well do is make us consider taking our money where we’re not being hoodwinked.

With every penny precious these days, ever-increasing tourist taxes that are not clearly being used to improve those destinations are ill-judged and could well start to see families looking elsewhere.

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The poll also indicated that the most common areas of concerns about the impact of people’s holidays was preservation of culture and heritage, waste and plastic pollution, and the welfare of animals.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “The ultimate goal for travel
is to have great places to visit that are also great places to live.

“If a destination intends to introduce a visitor charge as part of its tourism management, then it needs to make clear how that money is going back to support the local community and local people.

“Otherwise, these charges will only serve to add costs to consumers, without addressing the tourism issues important to local residents.”

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Donald Trump—who agreed to an interview with the CBS newsmagazine show 60 Minutes before backing out—has gone on the warpath at Kamala Harris for her performance on the show.

“The Interview on 60 Minutes with Comrade Kamala Harris is considered by many of those who reviewed it, the WORST Interview they have ever seen,” he wrote, in a Tuesday morning post on Truth Social. “She literally had no idea what she was talking about, and it was an embarrassment to our Country that a Major Party Candidate would be so completely inept.”

Harris, who has been criticized for keeping a light media schedule mostly contained to friendly interviewers, took a grilling on the program about the Biden administration’s border policies, her economic platform, and allegations that she has changed her positions on issues.

Harris Responds to Trump Canceling on ‘60 Minutes’ With Some Advice

Trump seemingly wants no part of that level of scrutiny. The Republican nominee for president accepted an invitation to a similar sitdown interview on the storied program, but his campaign later “decided not to participate,” a CBS spokesperson told CNN.

Trump spokesperson Steven Cheung claimed it was “fake news” to suggest the campaign ever agreed to the appearance, claiming “60 Minutes begged for an interview.” That was untrue, and 60 Minutes revealed communications from Cheung on Monday that showed the Trump camp had agreed to the sitdown.

‘60 Minutes’ Brings the Receipts on Trump’s Interview About-Face

The Trump team was reportedly worried about 60 Minutes fact-checking the interview, suggesting they were worried the interview might draw attention to Trump’s propensity for telling falsehoods in his freewheeling, extemporaneous ramblings.

Trump has also declined an invitation to a third presidential debate, which CNN proposed for Oct. 23. Harris agreed but Trump—viewed as the loser of their verbal bout last month—claimed it was “too late.”

During her 60 Minutes sitdown, Harris advised voters—given Trump was unwilling to give an interview—to watch his rallies instead, noting they would be treated to talk “about himself and all of his personal grievances.”

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India will radically reform regulations and invite foreign oil majors to explore both onshore and offshore as it races to extract as much oil as possible while there remains a market for crude, the country’s oil and gas minister has said.

“I was with Exxon yesterday. I was with BP a few days earlier. I have had meetings with Chevron [ . . .] I went to Brazil and had a discussion with Petrobras,” Hardeep Singh Puri told the Financial Times’ Energy Transition Summit India in Delhi.

“I said you come, join Oil India prospecting off the Andaman waters. Don’t make any investment, just come in. We will incentivise them. And if you strike oil and you are a partner, you will have first right of refusal,” Puri added. 

The minister said India had “several” oilfields the size of ExxonMobil’s 11bn barrel discovery in Guyana waiting to be found and that the country needed to move quickly to tap them before the world switched to other forms of energy in order to hit net zero climate targets.

“At the end of the day it’s a race,” he said. “If it remains there unexploited, when the [energy] transition becomes total, there is a philosophical debate on that. I keep telling Guyana, you got a big find, but by the time the oil starts coming into the market, the transition already would be in a pretty advanced stage.”

The Indian minister’s remarks appear to signal that Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government intends to make up for lost time in offshore oil exploration and production, where some investment has been deterred by fluctuating regulations and persistent red tape.

Estimates of India’s potential oil wealth differ hugely. S&P Global Commodity Insights believes there may be as much as 22bn barrels of oil in unexplored basins. Rystad, an energy consultancy, puts the figure at just under 8bn.

Meanwhile, analysts at the International Energy Agency are pessimistic about the chances of a significant increase in the country’s 700,000 barrels per day of production.

“In part, the absence of international companies may be due to lacklustre discoveries since the turn of the century,” they wrote, in their annual Indian Oil Market outlook. Over the past 23 years, 2bn barrels of oil have been discovered in India, compared with 10bn in each of Angola, Norway and Guyana and 40bn in Brazil.

“Against the backdrop of capital discipline, major players may be waiting on the sidelines for a world-class find before establishing operations in the country,” they added.

Puri, who promised in July more than $100bn of investment opportunities in the sector by 2030, is trying to reduce India’s overwhelming dependence on imported oil. 

“We just took our eye off the ball. There was neglect,” he said. Only 10 per cent of India’s potentially oil-producing basins were being explored, while the country imported 85 per cent to 88 per cent of its oil and spent $150bn a year on foreign energy resources, Puri said.  

To trigger more oil exploration, he said he would radically change India’s legal framework. “We sat down with the majors and said: ‘Look, guys, tell us which are the areas where you want tweaking in policy?’ In the next session (of parliament), which will be fully next month, I will get that bill passed and it will be enacted into law,” he said. 

The proposed legislation reforms regulation of oilfield development to protect companies against sudden windfall taxes and gives them the right to arbitrate any disputes outside India, among other changes.

Puri said India had also opened more than a million square kilometres that were previously “no-go areas” because of military or other restrictions, and had put “all the data which people require” on a repository at the University of Texas in Houston. 

BP, Reliance and Vedanta were among the companies that submitted bids this year in India’s ninth licensing round, for nine onshore blocks, eight shallow-water blocks and 11 ultra-deepwater blocks. Puri said 38 per cent of the bids were for areas that were previously restricted. 

Foreign oil companies are hoping India’s status as one of the world’s fastest-growing big economies will underpin future demand for crude. “India is growing and looks very, very healthy,” said Darren Woods, chief executive of ExxonMobil, at the company’s last results call.

“India is where the real growth is going to come, so it has an underlying advantage,” said Puri. He promised that a 10th auction round for licences would swiftly follow once parliament has passed his legislation.