Details

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.

Cast/Performers

Philip Langridge (Edward Fairfax Vere), John Tomlinson (John Claggart), Simon Keenlyside (Billy Budd), Alan Opie (Mr Redburn), Matthew Best (Mr Flint), Alan Ewing (Lieutenant Radcliffe), Francis Egerton (Red Whiskers), Quentin Hayes (Donald), Jeremy White (Dansker), Mark Padmore (Novice), Richard Coxon (Squeak)

Creatives/Company

Author: Britten
Company(s): London Symphony Orchestra, London Symphony Chorus
Conductor: Richard Hickox