A unique selling point about Aldeburgh is that it is a wonderful place to be, no matter if the weather is fair or foul. If the sun is shining, the wide sea vista gleams with a brilliance few places can rival. If the east coast does its worst, the scudding black clouds and biting winds conjure a Peter Grimes atmosphere that is what this town, forever associated with Benjamin Britten, is all about.

The same might be said of the festival. The 61st Aldeburgh Festival of Music and the Arts opened at the weekend with events fair and – well, if not foul, certainly nothing like as good as one might have hoped. But even if one performance disappoints, there are others in the very wide range of music on offer that soon deliver compensation.