'Billy Budd' right at home in Seattle
 |
|
||||||||||||||||
Seattle Opera general director Speight Jenkins considers Seattle an ideal setting for Benjamin Britten's "Billy Budd," a 20th-century seafaring opera adapted from Herman Melville's last novella.
Seattle has a rich maritime history, important context for examining the various interpretations of the story of a handsome and likable sailor caught up in jealousies aboard an English navy ship during the French Wars of 1797.
"The moral issues in `Billy Budd' are fascinating," said Jenkins. "What makes it so interesting is that there are so many levels on which you can take it."
| Opera preview "Billy Budd," Seattle premier in English with English captions. Seven performances at the Seattle Center Opera House January 13-27. Evenings at 7:30 p.m.; Sunday matinee at 2 p.m. Running time: three hours with one intermission. Ticket prices: $31-$107. Call 206-389-7676 or order online at www.seattleopera.org. |
When Claggart concocts a scheme falsely accusing Billy of plotting a mutiny, the outraged sailor bursts into a rage and strikes him dead with one blow.
The ship's captain, Captain Vere, known called "Starry Vere" for his intellectual qualities, realizes that Claggart was lying. But this was wartime. Open rebellions aboard ships were not uncommon, and a sailor had struck and killed a superior.
Torn between his duty to uphold naval code and the prospect of killing an innocent man, he abides by the articles of war and convenes a court martial, which ends in the sailor's hanging. A mysterious meeting between Billy and the captain takes place before Billy dies. The orchestra plays 34 chords, and the audience is left to wonder what is said. At the execution, Billy exonerates the captain.
Jenkins has seen eight different productions of Billy Budd, first written by Britten for the Royal Opera at Covent Garden in London in 1951. But he was most impressed with Francesca Zambello's stage direction at the Houston Grand Opera a few years ago, a production she first directed at Covent Garden in 1995.
Christian Rath, who worked as an assistant to Zambello on a recent presentation of "Billy Budd" by the Los Angeles Opera, will direct the production in Seattle. Design and costumes are by Alison Chitty, Zambello's collaborator at Covent Garden. She designed an elaborate set that splits in half to reveal the ship's lower level.
"When I saw this, I said to myself, `I will do this in Seattle,' " said Jenkins, who considers "Billy Budd" one of the three or four greatest 20th-century operas.
"I think it's about duty and devotion and duty and responsibility and the needs of wartime. But there are lots of levels. . . . You could look at it as just a morality play. Or you could look at it as a piece that dwells on the repulsion of men who are drawn to each other."
The gay theme sometimes takes on too much importance in discussions about the work, Jenkins believes. Britten and his librettist E.M. Forster were gay, and the story revolves around a totally male cast.
"There's much more to talk about for my money," Jenkins said. "I'm not saying it's not there, but it's not the essence of the opera."
Singing the role of Billy Budd is English baritone Christopher Maltman, a role he performed with the Welsh National Opera. This marks his U.S. opera debut. Claggart is Metropolitan Opera baritone Jeffrey Wells. "His voice is quite beautiful yet truly connotes the evil that is Claggart," said Jenkins. In the role of Captain Vere are American tenors Peter Kazaras and Joseph Evans.
The opera will be conducted by Robert Spano, director of the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Atlantic Symphony. Spano conducted the 1995 production of "Billy Budd" at Covent Garden.