A Modern Anti-Hero: Britten’s Peter Grimes 1. Britten’s opera Peter Grimes can be read as relating to his own experiences. 2. He and Peter Pears, his lifelong companion and the tenor who premiered several of his roles, were conscientious objectors at the beginning of World War II and moved to the United States. 3. They returned to the United Kingdom in 1942. Grimes was written during this period. 4. Britten alters the original story to portray Grimes more sympathetically.