The second performance of Opera 5’s production of Britten’s The Turn of the Screw on Thursday night was sung by the “apprentice” cast drawn from Opera McGill.  Curiously, it was an all female cast with women singing both Miles and Peter Quint. My review of Wednesday night’s opener has lots of details and discussion about the production, orchestra etc which I shan’t repeat!  So to the stage performance.  Bottom line, it was excellent and really only fell short of the professional cast where maturity was an issue and then not by much.  Patricia Yates as Peter Quint was particularly notable.  This young lady sounds like the quintessential (sorry!) English Britten tenor in that long lineage that traces back to Peter Pears.  She’s a decent actor too and it was a pretty remarkable performance. Bri Jones was a properly spooky and depressed Miss Jessel.  Kate Fogg sang and acted well as the Governess and Paige Robinson as Flora conveyed the kind of exuberant childishness required in this production.  She’s very young so maybe that helped!  Certainly one to watch for the future.  Maia Weissburg’s Miles was well sung acted (though a bit distractingly unandrogynous!).  MacKenzie Sechi gave a fine performance as Mrs. Grose but she is a bit light and sopranoish for the role and couldn’t provide the maturity that Krisztina Szabó brings to the main cast.  Few, if any, student singers could.  But nit picking aside this was a very fine ensemble performance and did credit to McGill. There are two more shows featuring the main cast; tonight (Friday) and tomorrow at Theatre Passe Muraille. Photo credit: Emily Ding.