Ad not shown

Performance

VenueRoyal Opera House
Also: Linbury Studio, Ballet Studio, Clore Studio,Floral Hall
TownWest End
CountyGreater London
From23rd April 2019
To10th May 2019
Royal Opera House (V377)
Current/Future Listings
Listings Archive

Production Changes

Previous details associated with this item and date of change.
  • Date of change: 22 Mar 19 - T01076966108

Billy Budd

Billy Budd

Work:: Billy Budd (S1877)

Britten's operas often focus on the way particular worlds deal with an outsider. The outsider in Billy Budd is a young man, press-ganged into naval service on the HMS Idomitable around 1797. His story is told in an opera-length flashback by the ship's captain, Edward Fairfax Vere, who is racked by guilt over Billy's fate. Billy's optimism, good-heartedness and trusting nature wins over all but the most venal of the downtrodden crew. He's keen for promotion, but his charisma and beauty cause the evil master-at-arms, John Claggart (who resembles Iago in Shakespeare's Othello), to plot his destruction. Billy's fatal flaw is that, under pressure, he suffers from a crippling stutter. When Claggart falsely accuses him of fomenting mutiny, in front of a sceptical Vere, Billy cannot find the words to defend himself and strikes Claggart dead. At the subsequent court-martial, Vere must follow the letter of the Articles of War and Billy is condemned to death. Typically, just before his execution, Billy cries out in praise of Vere. Now a very old man, Vere concludes that Billy's blessing has, in fact, saved him.
Author Britten

Production:: (T01076966108)

Sung in English with surtitles
Producer Royal Opera
Producer Teatro Real Madrid
Producer Opera di Roma
Conductor Ivor Bolton
Director Deborah Warner
Design Michael Levine
Costume Chloe Obolensky
Lighting Jean Kalman
Choreographer Kim Brandstrup

Listing:: L01234980694




Production details

Sung in English with surtitles

Reviews

No UKTW or User reviews available.
CORONAVIRUS: All venues in the UK were shut down on March 16, 2020, and the restrictions were finally lifted on July 19, 2021. It is important to mention that the UK Theatre Web archive listings (iUKTDb) from March 2020 to July 2021 might not be accurate due to the lack of information regarding rescheduled and cancelled shows.

Mastodon X - Twitter © Dynamic Listing Ltd, UK. 1995-2024