The enigmatic story, originally penned by Henry James,
centers around a governess employed by a mysterious, unseen man, and put in the
charge of his young neice and nephew at a palatial estate called Bly. The circumstances
of her employment are restrictive - bizarre to a fault, with the children's uncle
leaving written instructions with the nanny to not write or bother him with any
troubles that might arise.
With this not-so-subtle foreshadowing, troubles, of course,
arise rather quickly once the Governess arrives at Bly. Greeted by the children,
Flora and Miles, and their housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, all seems sunny and serene
at first, until in Scene 2 a letter arrives from Miles' school, indicating that
he has been permanently expelled. Soon after, the Governess is strolling through
Bly's gardens and spots a mysterious vision in the mansion's tower - a broad,
ominous, male figure with red hair.
Mrs. Grose gasps on learning of the vision, and claims
the figure she has seen was the uncle's former valet, the evil Peter Quint. She
tells the Governess about Quint's evil ways during his tenure at Bly, the ways
he made free with young Miles, Flora, and the former nanny, Miss Jessel. She then
claims both Quint and Miss Jessel were killed in seperate incidents.
The ghostly visitations become frequent, with Miss Jessel
appearing to Flora and the Governess at the lake, and Peter Quint visiting Miles,
inciting Miles' haunting song;
Malo: I would rather be
Malo: in an apple-tree
Malo: than a naughty boy
Malo: in adversity.
The Governess is beside herself, realizing that the children
are in danger from these evil spirits. She vows to fight against them, thereby
saving the children. Act 2 of the opera opens with Quint and Miss Jessel arguing
over the nature of who has called whom to this place, and both proclaiming (with
a quote from Yeats), "The ceremony of innocence is drowned!"
Miss Jessel appears to the Governess, and tells her that
Bly is the place where her revenge must commence. This, and another appearance
from Quint, prompt the Governess to finally write to the uncle. Quint, meanwhile,
persuades Miles to steal the letter and destroy it before the Governess has a
chance to send it. Both of the children are becoming stranger and stranger, as
the Governess becomes more and more neurotic.
Finally, Miss Jessel appears to the Governess, Flora,
and Mrs. Grose, although the Governess is the only one who claimes to see her.
Both Flora and Mrs. Grose deny that anyone is there, and Flora, traumatized by
the event, is taken away from Bly by Mrs. Grose.
In the final act of the opera, the Governess and Miles
are left alone. In the distance, Peter Quint calls to Miles, coming steadily closer.
The Governess demands that Miles admits he sees and hears Quint, which he refuses
to do. As Quint pulls him away in a satin sheet, Miles finally screams at Quint,
and thereby destroys him. The governess rushes to catch Miles, only to find that
he has died in the battle.
