Billy Budd Britten

800 litres of water, two sails, thirty pulleys, sixty hammocks: for the Bicentenary of the Teatro Real of Madrid, Deborah Warner coined a colossal production of Benjamin Britten's Billy Budd. A critically-acclaimed performance, praised for its depth and intelligence. Baritone Jacques Imbrailo delivers a stunning rendition of the young sailor's part, while British singers Toby Spence and Brindley Sherratt provide solid interpretations of Captain 'Starry' Vere and of John Claggart. In the pit, Ivor Bolton masterfully deploys, along with the Orchestra of the Teatro Real, all the energy and power of Britten's fifth opera. A now iconic production, co-produced by the Opera of Rome and the Royal Opera House.

The first film of any Britten opera. The only version to star Peter Pears, who originated the role of Captain Vere. A cast of distinguished British singers, under the baton of a young Charles Mackerras.
"…immediately this black and white film starts there is a compelling intensity to this performance which is almost unsettling. Peter Pears was a definitive Edward Fairfax Vere, a role to which he is inextricably linked…The performance crackles with intensity with superb direction and an excellent production." (Penguin Guide)

Glyndebourne has a proud association with the operas of Benjamin Britten, however until 2010 had never staged Billy Budd. The all-male opera with a libretto co-written by E.M. Forster, is based on the battle between pure good and blind evil, and is set on a British man-‘o-war ship. Michael Grandage, Artistic Director of the Donmar Warehouse, chose this work to make his long-awaited operatic debut. Sir Mark Elder returned to conduct, marking the 100th opera production in his illustrious career.

Kent Nagano and the Hallé continue to commit to CD less celebrated portions of the Britten canon. Last year there was the four-act Billy Budd; before that the premiere recording of a concert version of the radio drama The Rescue. Now come two more firsts, recordings of the Double Concerto - prepared from Britten's almost complete sketches by Colin Matthews and presented by Nagano at Aldeburgh in 1997 - and the Two Portraits from 1930. The second of these is a portrait of Britten himself, a surprisingly plaintive and reflective meditation for viola and strings in E minor. The image is belied by the rest of the music on the disc, which is buoyant, energetic, young man's music all written before Britten was 26. Big guns Kremer and Bashmet are brought in for the Double Concerto and give of their impassioned best. Nagano and the Hallé are appropriately spirited and vigorous throughout the disc. It's not mature Britten, but clearly points the way forward and is worth getting to know.

Soon after his return from America, at the height of the war in 1943, Britten wrote incidental music for a radio play by Edward Sackville-West on the Homeric subject of Odysseus’s return to Penelope. Drawn from the complete score with barely any amendment of the original, and compressed into a 36-minute cantata, with Chris de Souza tailoring the text and Colin Matthews, Britten’s last amanuensis, most tactfully editing the music, the result is extraordinarily powerful. The most important role is that of the narrator, here masterfully taken by Dame Janet Baker who brings the story vividly to life despite the stylized classical language (e.g. “Odysseus, Lord of sea-girt Ithaca” or “His fair wife, white-armed Penelope”). Rather confusingly Athene also appears as a soprano, with the radiant Alison Hagley sounding totally unlike Dame Janet. She is one of a godly quartet of singers who contribute Greek-style commentaries – vocal passages which regularly add to the atmospheric beauty of the piece.

Volume one of Decca's Britten opera series includes both of the blockbusters mentioned above, the charming comedy Albert Herring, and the rarely heard television opera Owen Wingrave, all recorded between 1959 (Grimes) and 1971 (Wingrave).

“Contemplation has enabled a powerful introspection within me, etching a path to my innermost self. It is with great anticipation that I now reveal this path, in the hope of forging a heartfelt connection with you. I present this to you, imbued with the sincerity of my emotion, and extend an invitation for you to accompany me on this journey.” – Huw Montague Rendall