Benjamin Britten's powerful tale of injustice on the high seas.
by Paul Pelkonen
Billy Budd is one of Benjamin Britten's most effective operas, the tale of an innocent seaman gang-pressed aboard the H.M.S. Indomitable during the Napoleonic Wars. Once there, Billy runs afoul of John Claggart, the ship's master-at-arms. Claggart, a malevolent, Iago-like figure decides to frame Billy for mutiny. Although the shipboard rebellion never happens, Billy still swings at the end of a rope.
Injustice, repressed homosexual lust and the horrors of war are central themes of Billy Budd. The taut libretto, by E.M. Forster, is based on the short novel of the same title by Herman Melville, ranked among that author's work second only to Moby Dick. The Met mounts a realistic shipboard production, with good opportunities for the company's exceptional male chorus as the crew of the Indomitable.
The cast of this revival features baritone Nathan Gunn in the title role. Bass-baritone James Morris takes on the key role of John "Jemmy Legs" Claggart. This is the Met's first revival of the 1978 production to appear in 15 years.
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| San Francisco days: Nathan Gunn as Billy Budd. Image © 2007 San Francisco Opera. |
Billy Budd is one of Benjamin Britten's most effective operas, the tale of an innocent seaman gang-pressed aboard the H.M.S. Indomitable during the Napoleonic Wars. Once there, Billy runs afoul of John Claggart, the ship's master-at-arms. Claggart, a malevolent, Iago-like figure decides to frame Billy for mutiny. Although the shipboard rebellion never happens, Billy still swings at the end of a rope.
Injustice, repressed homosexual lust and the horrors of war are central themes of Billy Budd. The taut libretto, by E.M. Forster, is based on the short novel of the same title by Herman Melville, ranked among that author's work second only to Moby Dick. The Met mounts a realistic shipboard production, with good opportunities for the company's exceptional male chorus as the crew of the Indomitable.
The cast of this revival features baritone Nathan Gunn in the title role. Bass-baritone James Morris takes on the key role of John "Jemmy Legs" Claggart. This is the Met's first revival of the 1978 production to appear in 15 years.
, with the late, great Dudley Moore playing a Diabelli Variations-style take on the Colonel Bogey March by F.J. Ricketts. (That's the theme that was used in The Bridge on the River Kwai.)
