Daniel Harding's superb recording of Turn of the Screw should be of interest to anyone who loves the opera. The delicate, finely shaded orchestral colors are vividly rendered and details emerge with clarity and sharp definition. Harding treats the score as the chamber music that it actually is, and the result is a performance of revelatory intimacy. His flexibility gives the evocative score plenty of room to breathe, and his pacing generally moves opera inexorably on, although the conflict of the final scene lacks the necessary urgency to keep from seeming like an anticlimax. Comparisons with the original Britten recording from 1954 are inevitable, and in just about every way this version is an improvement. Ian Bostridge's voice is far more pleasant than Peter Pears', but his interpretation is not so different, and he summons up a genuine sense of menace as Peter Quint. Bostridge's interpretation of the Prologue, though, is a marked improvement over Pears', a not insignificant factor given how critical the Prologue is for setting the tone of the opera. Joan Rodgers' voice may be somewhat small for the role, but she sings with purity and focus, and fully conveys the Governess' emotional complexity and ambivalence. The children, Julian Leang as Miles and particularly Caroline Wise as Flora, don’t have voices with the strength the opera requires, but that's at least partly compensated for by the very creepy performances Harding coaxes from them. Jane Henschel as Mrs. Grose and Vivian Tierney as Miss Jessel offer performances that are subtly sung and characterized. EMI's sound is clean, with exceptional clarity and atmospheric ambience.