It is not often that lovers of opera and lovers of a good ghost story can come together and enjoy a single stage work.

But that will be the opportunity Sunday afternoon at the Lincoln Theater in Yountville when the Adler Fellows from San Francisco Opera present Benjamin Britten’s ghost-opera, “The Turn of the Screw.”

What makes this opera so family-friendly is its simple story: A governess comes to an old English estate to take care of two young children. But then the complications begin in the form of two ghosts, one the former governess, and the other, most ominously, the ghost of the former estate overseer. Questions then begin to arise about these ghosts: Might they be the imaginings of the lonely governess or are they perhaps tricks played by the children to rile up the governess?

And that is where the title of the opera comes in: Each “turn” of this plot brings us closer to the truth. But whose truth? That of the governess, or that of the children?’

(Movie-goers might remember this story from the 1961 film, “The Innocents” starring Deborah Kerr, which was based upon the same Henry James novella. The spine-tingling film will be shown in a free screening at Lincoln Theater on Sunday at 5 p.m.)

“The Turn of the Screw” is a tense tale beautifully enhanced by Britten’s atmospheric music, which coils about itself with ever-increasing tension until it reaches a shattering climax, and then begins to slowly unwind. The opera will be sung in English and there will be projected titles in English as well, so this promises to be a very easy-to-understand and very dramatic piece of theater that can be widely enjoyed.

Napa Valley audiences may well remember last year’s exciting presentation of Mozart’s “Don Giovanni” at Lincoln Theater by the Adler Fellows. The Adler Fellowship program is for advanced young singers in training with San Francisco Opera, and they will once again bring that youth and zeal to these haunting roles. Soprano Melody Moore will sing the emotional governess, Heidi Melton will sing the calming housekeeper, while boy soprano Nick Kempen and young Kelty Morash will sing the enigmatic children. Soprano Ji Young Yang will sing the ghostly Miss Jessel, and Mattthew O’Neill will sing the aggressive specter, Peter Quint. A chamber orchestra of 13 will be under the direction of Mark Morash, and Sheri Greenawald, executive director of the San Francisco Opera Music Center, will direct the eerie proceedings.

Tickets are now on sale at the Lincoln Theater box office by calling  944-1300, or online at Lincolntheater.com. Early purchase is encouraged as last year’s final performance became a near sell-out once the word got around how excellent these performances were.

 Dr. James Keolker, a professor of opera studies at the Fromm Institute at the University of San Francisco known for his wise and witty musical insights, will present an introductory lecture at 2 p.m. March 11 (one hour before the performance) at the Lincoln Theater. His lecture is free to those attending the performance.

“The Turn of the Screw”

Lincoln Theater

Sunday, March 11, 3 p.m.

Tickets, $30 to $75

Dr. James Keolker’s free pre-show talk, 2. p.m.

Free Screening of “The Innocents”: Sunday March 4, 5 p.m.

Lincoln Theater Box Office, 944-1300 www.lincolntheater.org