Opera al fresco can be a hazardous experience during an English summer, especially on the windswept east coast. Nevertheless, the audiences wrapped up in their woolly hats and winter coats who came away from this open-air production of Peter Grimes on Aldeburgh beach said it was an unforgettable experience. Now it has been issued on DVD and the rest of us can judge from the warmth of our firesides.

In almost all respects the technical side of the operation is a near triumph. Having the singers perform live (the face microphones can be a touch off-putting in close-up) to the accompaniment of a pre-recorded orchestra was a gamble but it has paid off with very decent sound, the voices forward enough to make sure that every word can be heard. The widescreen, letterbox format offers panoramic scenes of sea and sky. Picture quality is remarkably good and mobile cameras move around the acting area so that we see telling details, such as Ellen Orford ripping out pages from her Bible. It is a shame that the Sunday morning opening scene of Act 2 had to be performed as darkness fell but the whole of Act 3 – floodlit, upturned boats against a jet-black night sky – is wonderfully atmospheric. The last shot of Grimes, as he pushes his boat down the beach, feels unbearably real.

Tim Albery’s production tells the story straight, except that he places the action firmly in 1945 when the opera was first performed, with an English fighter plane flying overhead and local boys playing soldiers. By and large the crowd scenes work best, partly thanks to the epic expanse of this real-life theatre, partly because Alan Oke’s Peter Grimes is an introverted soul (his crucial Act 2 encounter with Ellen Orford feels too mild-mannered on this elemental stage). Nevertheless, the cast – the same as on the existing CD recording made live in concert (Signum, 11/13) – is a good one and Steuart Bedford’s pacing with the Britten-Pears Orchestra, recorded a week or so earlier in Snape Maltings, has a single-minded drive that transfers well. Against the odds, this DVD makes a unique and satisfying experience.