Britten: Billy Budd

1. Billy Budd, opera, Op. 50
   Composed by Benjamin Britten
   Performed by Covent Garden Royal Opera House Chorus and Orchestra
   with Frederick Dalberg, Michael Langdon, Theodor Uppman, Peter Spencer, Peter Flynn, David Tree, Rhoderick Davies, Inia Te Wiata, Ronald Lewis, Bryan Drake, Peter Pears, Hervey Alan, John Cameron, Sir Geraint Evans, Emlyn Jones, Brian Etheridge, William McAlpine, Hubert Littlewood, Anthony Marlowe, Colin Waller, Kenneth Nash, Alan Hobson
   
   

Britten: Billy Budd,Benjamin Britten,Hervey Alan,John Cameron,Rhoderick Davies,Bryan Drake,Brian Etheridge,Sir Geraint Evans,Michael Langdon,William McAlpine,Peter Pears,Theodore Uppman,David Tree,Ronald Lewis,Video Arts Int'l,British 20th/21st Century Opera,Chamber Music & Recitals,Classical,Opera,Opera/Operetta,Popular Music

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Average customer rating: This Budd's not for me A fine recording of Britten's fine opera Anniversary Quite good performance -- but still my fourth choice Powerful Operatic Tale of Good and Evil

Britten - Billy Budd / Keenlyside · Langridge · John Tomlinson · LSO · Hickox Benjamin Britten , Richard Hickox , Simon Keenlyside , Philip Langridge , and London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Manufacturer: Chandos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Opera & Vocal | Box Sets | Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten - Billy Budd / Tim Albery · David Atherton · Thomas Allen · ENO Britten: The Turn of the Screw (complete opera) Mahler: Symphony 3 & 1 Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle Britten: Peter Grimes ASIN: B00004SUDA Release Date: 2000-06-27

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Prologue: I Am An Old Man... (Vere)
2. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: Pull, Me Bantams!
3. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: Boat Ahoy!
4. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: First Man Forward! (Claggart)
5. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: Your Name? (Claggart, Billy)
6. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: Billy Budd, Kind Of The Birds! (Billy)

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: I Heard, Your Honour! (Claggart)
2. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: Come Along, Kid!
3. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: Christ! The Poor Chap... (Billy)
4. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: What's That? What's Those Whistles? (Billy, Claggart)
5. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 1: Starry Vere We Call Him (Billy)
6. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 2: Boy! (Vere)
7. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 2: Gentlemen, The King! (Vere)
8. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 2: Ay, At Spithead... (Vere)
9. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 2: We Are, Sir. Claggart Is An Able One (Vere)
10. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 3: Blow Her Away (Billy)
11. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 3: We're Off To Samoa... (Billy)
12. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 3: Hi! You... A... A...! (Billy)
13. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 3: Over The Water... (Claggart)
14. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 3: Come Here (Claggart)
15. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 3: Billy!... Hist! Billy Budd! (Billy)
16. Billy Budd: Act I - Scene 3: Dansker, Old Friend... (Billy)

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 1: I Don't Like The Look Of The Mist... (Vere)
2. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 1: With Great Regret I Must Disturb Your Honour (Claggart, Vere)
3. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 1: Deck Ahoy!
4. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 1: Volunteers! Call For Boarding Volunteers! (Vere)
5. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 1: There You Go Again, Master-At Arms (Vere, Claggart)
6. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 1: Oh, This Cursed Mist! (Vere)
7. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 2: Claggart, John Claggart, Beware! (Vere, Billy)
8. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 2: Master-At-Arms And Fortopman... (Vere, Claggart, Billy)
9. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 2: God O' Mercy (Vere)
10. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 2: Gentlemen, William Budd Here... (Vere)
11. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 2: William Budd, You Are Accused... (Vere, Billy)
12. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 2: Poor Fellow, Who Could Save Him?
13. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 2: I Accept Their Verdict (Vere)
14. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 3: Look! (Billy)
15. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 3: Here! Baby! (Billy)
16. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 3: And Farewell To Ye... (Billy)
17. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 4: (Interlude)
18. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 4: 'According To The Articles Of War...' (Billy, Claggart)
19. Billy Budd: Act II - Scene 4: Down All Hands!
20. Billy Budd: Act II - Epilogue: We Committed His Body To The Deep (Vere)

Amazon.com's Best of 2000

Herman Melville's complex tale of innocence and "moral obliquity" struck a resonant chord with Benjamin Britten, who was inspired to produce one of his finest stage works in Billy Budd (with a libretto by novelist E.M. Forster). This is the first recording of the revised, two-act version of the opera since Britten's own--and it's also one of the best accounts ever, hands down. --Thomas May

Amazon.com

Richard Hickox leads this first recording of the revised, two-act version of this opera since Britten's own wonderful performance in 1967 (the Kent Nagano-led set on Erato with Thomas Hampson is of Britten's first, four-act edition). Hickox's tempi are a bit slower throughout than Britten's. This fact, along with his cast's superb diction, means that almost every word is discernible. He manages to bring out each character's musical profile and keep the drama tight at the same time. His singers are first-rate. Simon Keenlyside now becomes the Billy for the ages. The voice is beautiful, his involvement complete, his outpourings of love and desperation sincere. Philip Langridge's Vere is in a class with Peter Pears, but his voice is richer and more easily produced. In John Tomlinson's portrayal of Claggart, there is more than just villainy; the sadism and unctuousness that are sometimes missed are apparent--and terrifying. Alan Opie and Matthew Best are stalwart and clear-headed as Redburn and Flint, respectively, and the remainder of the cast--children's and adults' choruses included--is superlative. As usual, the LSO play brilliantly. This Billy Budd is the desert-island pick, whether in the two-act or four-act version. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

This Budd's not for me.......2007-05-10

Yes, yes I know, Britten's Budd is a "great opera," and Britten a "great" opera composer, everyone seems to agree on that. But me. Sorry, but I have serious reservations about this opera. And also the approach to opera generally that it represents, an approach that in my opinion has had a truly doleful influence on so many other gifted composers, especially Brits and Americans, with the result that 20th century opera in English is STILL in such a dreadful fix, even when carried over into the 21st century. The problem has something to do, I think, with a dogma that began, perhaps, with Pelleas, though Debussy may have picked it up from Mussorgsky, who, in his "Wedding," tried to prove something about the "natural" inflections of the speaking voice. The Wedding was a noble failure. Pelleas, is, of course, Pelleas, a masterpiece that overcame the limitations of its premise through the sheer inventiveness -- and sensitivity -- of its creator. Sadly, Britten is neither inventive nor subtle in HIS attempt to "do justice" to the "natural" flow of speech. Or maybe it was simply laziness. Whatever. The vocal lines of Billy Budd are consistently vacuous and boring, more recitative than melody, more intonation than recitative. In far too many cases what we hear musically is a string of repeated notes, barely inflected. Does this make for better, more "realistic" drama? Perhaps, in the hands of great actors, it might. But opera, is after all, about singing -- and singers.

When Britten loosens up a bit to give us a "rousing" sea chantey, the effect, for me, is stilted, overblown, artificial, embarrassing. I wonder whether he actually ever heard real sailors singing real chanteys? It sounds to me as though this bit must have been written soley because his producer or director was begging him to put SOME sort of melody into the thing, for crying out loud, PLEASE.

The most disastrous aspect of the opera actually has more to do with the dramatization than anything else -- because Britten and his collaborators have totally undercut the whole point of Melville's tale. What primarily characterizes Billy is not only his goodness and innocence, but his touching and fatally incurable inarticulateness. He can barely form a sentence. So, when Britten FINALLY opens up to provide us with some sort of extended vocal melody, in Billy's monologue, he is, at the same time, undercutting the fundamental premise of the story he's telling. And making nonsense of Melville's superb characterization.

The one redeeming aspect of this work, for me, is the orchestra, which is, from the beginning to the end, a marvel of invention, not to mention technical mastery. It is here that the true drama of Billy Budd unfolds, and brilliantly. There is no question that Britten was a truly great composer. His orchestral writing in this opera, as in so many other works, clearly demonstrates that. But a great OPERA composer? I don't think so.

A fine recording of Britten's fine opera.......2007-02-05

This was the first opera by Benjamin Britten that I purchased and I have been in love with his music ever since. The sound is wonderful and the balance between voices and orchestra is spectacular. This singing is absolutely top drawer. Langridge is the closest thing to Peter Pears that our generation has and thank goodness he has an affinity for Britten! His Vere is powerful and sublimely heart-felt. He copes manfully with the strange tessitura and range, bringing great emotion and pathos to the role. John Tomlinson is a smooth-voiced Claggart, more Iago than Mephisto, twisting each phrase and note toward its most vile connotation. His monologue about Billy is simply dripping with hate and jealousy; and--could it be?--attraction toward Billy and hatred of himself for having those urges? A breathtaking reading. Simon Keenlyside is simply the most virile and sensually-voiced Billy on record. He cannot match Hamspson's sweetness and innocence of tone, however Keenlyside's is a Billy we can believe men would follow as a leader and who could kill a man with one punch. His "and farewell to ye" at the end of the opera is less an acceptance of death, but an affirmation of life and his faith in something greater than he; it is one of my most favorite operatic moments. Hickox helms a tight ship and the ensemble singing is haunting and powerfull. Warmly recommeded!

Anniversary .......2006-11-03

Yesterday, November 2, was the fifty-fifth anniversary of Benjamin Britten's completion of Billy Budd, and I have been thinking a lot about the opera lately (partly because I read the Melville original to my family as we were driving places this summer and that led me back to the opera). Of the three performances in stereo (conducted by Hickox, Nagano, and Britten), this is the weakest. With probably the best recorded sound of the three---the spaciousness is superb---it suffers in two main areas: First, the tempos are too slow. This means, not that there is a perfect tempo that can be indicated by a metronome marking, but that in any given performance the tempo must convince one of its "rightness"---see my comments about the Nagano performance below. Pop musicians speak about a "groove," and it applies to classical music too. Particularly unfortunate in this regard is the big set piece that opens act 2 ("This is our moment"), which seems to drag and lose steam somewhere in the middle; it's supposed to represent the frustration of the crew's desire to see action, but the music has therefore never to flag until it is left hanging, unfulfilled, at the moment of maximum excitement.

The other weakness is, I regret to say, the singing, particularly of Philip Langridge. He sounds vocally tired on this recording and I suspect that he gamely agreed for some set of practical reasons (scheduling, expense) to go ahead and do it, despite knowing that he was not in his best voice. I saw him do Vere at the Met, and he was wonderful---and I was even more wowed by his Aaron in Moses und Aron at the City Opera. Simon Keenlyside is a good Billy, but I simply like the others more. John Tomlinson, though, has a suavity of tone that makes him my favorite Claggart.

Vocally, the other two recordings are much preferable. Anthony Rolfe Johnson, the Vere in the Nagano recording, captures some of the spooky vocal quality of Peter Pears in his performance, though it must be said, without the consummate attention to detail. Compare Pears' and Johnson's readings of the last lines of the opera: Pears carries his voice down (portamento) from the last note of "centuries ago" to the first note of "when I, Edward Fairfax Vere, commanded the Indomitable"; Johnson just sings one line, then the next. Thomas Hampson's Billy is also very beautifully sung; he is probably my favorite of the three, but (1) I think it is an almost impossible role to bring off dramatically---though I haven't heard Uppman---and (2) I think the quality of the Vere is more important to the overall impression.

The problem with this recording (the Nagano) is in the tempos, as has been remarked by at least one reviewer. Surprisingly, they are the most in accord with the score---even more so than the composer's performance. In this case, however, everything seems rushed. The only way I can explain it is to say that while the tempos follow the letter of the score, the music doesn't "breathe." I tend to doubt that Nagano's tempos are the result of a desire to get the opera on to two CDs, as another reviewer cynically suggested, but his rendering of the thirty-four chords of the "interview" scene are almost comically fast, though, alas, gorgeously played.

To go off on a tangent, the Nagano recording is the only one of the original four-act version. The main difference is in the big "Starry Vere" scene of act 1, which is much cut back (and in which Vere doesn't actually appear) in the two-act version. This recording does make a case for the four-act version because Billy's last line ("Starry Vere, God bless you!") has a better context with the scene intact. I do have a gripe, however: Britten composed the ending of each act so that the music seems to pick up where it left off in the next---inspired by Berg's Wozzeck (Britten had wanted to study with Berg and once listed him as among his top ten favorite composers). So why didn't the recording company put a decent break between the acts? The link that he composed between acts 3 and 4 seems particularly redundant without some intervening silence.

The Britten performance with Pears is still the best overall, in my opinion, despite some scrappy brass playing and some distortion in the recording. One tiny example perhaps gives a hint of why. Of course, Britten observes his own tempos accurately, but when Vere sings "What have I done?" near the end, Britten lets lose with a whack! on the bass drum---maybe just on the spur of the moment---while the score calls for the drum to be played softly. It's musically absolutely right, and noteworthy as an instance of a composer justifiably disregarding his own marking. A terrific musician first, Britten was not a slave to the score, even his own.

Quite good performance -- but still my fourth choice.......2005-09-24

Billy Budd has inspired more fierce devotoin than any other Britten opera, so I can't disagree with the points made by other reviewers, but I have to say that Billy has been very lucky on records. The 1951 premiere, in listenable mono, is a blazing performance, particularly from the lead, Thomas Uppman, Peter pears as Captain Vere, and the composer on the podium. For a stereo version, Britten's later Decca recording is everything one oculd ask for in terms of detail and sensitivity. Kent Nagano's live performance with Thomas Hampson in the title role rockets out of hte chute with incredible sonics and great impact from the chorus and orchestra.

Compared to those three, this recordding lacks a bit in cintensity and impact. Every single soloist is fine, but so are the ones in the three sets mentioned above. I think the special thing about the singing here is the diction, which is very clear, a hard ting to achieve with so many baritones. But I don't ocme away deeply moved, as I was by Rolf-Johnson's Vere on the Nagaon set or Uppman's Billy on the origianl radio transcript. All in all, this is a very goood reading, however.

Powerful Operatic Tale of Good and Evil.......2003-11-21

Britten - Billy Budd

Benjamin Britten consistently proved himself an operatic and dramatic genius. There are few canons in the history of opera that engage as highly on an emotional and intellectual level as Britten's operas, and certainly no other comparable canon in English. Britten consistently showed exquisite taste in choice of subject, setting of high quality poetic texts and psychological insight...that coupled with works that tackle timeless themes such as the clash of good and evil, and the individual against an uncomprehending society and you have some of the meatiest philosophical work of the 20th century.

Billy Budd did not meet with immediate success. The opera was dubbed The Buggar's Opera by the British Press...a swipe at the proclivities of the opera's co-creators, Britten, E.M. Forster and Eric Crozier. The all male cast also did not endear the work to the standard opera audience initially. In 1961, Britten revised the work, streamlining it into two lengthy acts with a Prologue and Postlude, and tightening some of the passages. In this form the work has steadily gained favor, until now it may rank with Peter Grimes as the composer's most popular opera.

The libretto, taken from Melville's late philosophical tale of Good and Evil aboard a British Man-o-war, is sharply drawn. The three main characters are all flesh and blood and yet represent distinct "types"...Billy Budd is fresh and honest goodness, so fresh and honest to survive in a fallen world. The Master at Arms, John Claggart, is a figure of pure evil, perhaps the best-drawn figure of evil in opera since Verdi and Boito's Iago. Billy Budd is pressed into service aboard the English ship during its wars with Napoleon. Budd is exuberant and embodies all the best qualities of youth and freshness. His attractive qualities bring him into direct conflict with Claggart, who in the opera is subliminally attracted to Billy, but so repressed that he seeks to destroy the sailor. Drawn into this clash of Good and Evil is Vere, the dreamy and heroic captain of the ship. When Claggart comes to Vere to accuse Billy of sedition, Vere knows instinctively that Billy is innocent, yet before he can do anything about it, Billy's temper gets the best of him and he strikes Claggart and kills him. Vere is then faced with the clear imperative to execute Billy for killing a superior officer, even though Vere knows that higher morality exonerates Billy.

Britten and Forster take the bones of this story and arrange it in separate and increasingly powerful scenes. The opening scene including the "recruitment" of men rounded up by press gangs, is dominated by shrill wind calls that illustrate the sheer brutality of life aboard a man-o-war. Underneath there are the beautiful and moving shanties of the sailors, expressing the bleakness of their toil and life. Claggart's entrance and music as he inducts the reluctant recruits is masterful. Claggart's music is brutal and powerful, and each time he enters in subsequent scenes the hair on the back of your neck raises. Other powerfully drawn scenes include Captain Vere's drinks in his cabin with the officers, which include some of the most beautiful lyrical writing in the opera, the below deck revels of the sailors, the confrontation between Billy and Claggart, and the stunning conclusion of the work.

What particularly makes this opera work is Britten's skill in differentiating all the male voices. It is rare that an opera of this length consists of only one voice gender. Perhaps the only other example I can think of is Puccini's Suor Angelica, and that is only a one-acter. Britten keeps things straight by writing highly individual music for all of his characters, even the periphery characters. Claggart's music is brutal and dark, and the voice is a basso profundo and as such immediately recognizable. Vere is a dreamy tenor, of the kind that Peter Pears played so well. Other periphery characters like the spy Squeak, or the Novice, have phrases that render them whole characters within a phrase or two. The music for Billy is perhaps the hardest to create, but Britten seems to catch both his good spirits and his temper so that the threads that make the tragedy are woven into Billy almost from the first time we meet him. Using these highly artificial musical procedures, Britten ends up creating some of the most naturalistic opera imaginable, and when all the disparate musical elements meet in the last scene, the effect is overwhelming.

There are currently three widely available recordings of this opera, the original London recording, with Britten conducting and Pears as Vere, a recording with Thomas Hampson and Kent Nagano conducting, and this Chandos recording. You can't go wrong with any of them. The London recording has the advantage of Pears amazing and amazingly weird voice in a role that was written for him...and John Shirley Quirk's powerful Claggart. But to me the Chandos edges it out by a little, with Langridge's very powerful Vere. In this recording you realize that neither Billy nor Claggart is the main character of this drama, Vere is. Langridge sings the role with restraint and yet with true pathos, so that by the end, you are openly weeping for the man caught in an insoluble moral dilemma. And John Tomlinson's Claggart is even more terrifying than Shirley-Quirk. The Nagano disc has the edge on its Billy though. Thomas Hampson owns the role, though on this release Simon Keelyside does a fine job with the title character. Hickox and Nagano are both in excellent control of the material, and edge out Britten, who's rendition must be considered a benchmark in terms of tempi, but who's skills as a conductor were not always of the highest quality. On balance, I think I'd opt for this disc, were I to only own one version of the opera.

Average customer rating:

Britten Conducts Britten: Operas 1 Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Brannigan, Owen | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Pears, Sir Peter | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Britten, Sir Benjamin | A to B | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten Conducts Britten: Operas 2 Britten Conducts Britten Britten Conducts Britten Paul Hindemith: Complete Orchestral Works [Box Set] Delius: A Village Romeo and Juliet ASIN: B0001Y4JHU Release Date: 2004-10-12

Average customer rating: NOT SO MUCH BILLY BUDD, MORE EDWARD FAIRFAX VERE TAKING OUR SALVATION ANY WAY IT COMES A Great Performance By the Composer

Britten: Holy Sonnets, Billy Budd, etc. / Britten, Glossop, Pears, et al Manufacturer: Decca ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Brannigan, Owen | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Britten, Sir Benjamin | A to B | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Songs & Lieder | Vocal Non-Opera | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music The Decca Records Store | Specialty Stores | Music Similar Items: Britten: The Turn Of The Screw / Britten, Pears, Vyvyan, Cross, et al A Midsummer Night's Dream / Britten, London SO Britten: The Rape of Lucretia; Phaedra Britten - Peter Grimes / Pears · C. Watson · Pease · Brannigan · J. Watson · Elms · Studholme · Kells · R. Nilsson · Lanigan · G. Evans · D. Kelly · ROH Covent Garden · Britten Britten: Curlew River ASIN: B0000041RZ Release Date: 1989-05-09

Tracks:

1. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: Oh My Blacke Soule!
2. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: Batter My Heart
3. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: Oh Might Those Sighes And Teares
4. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: Oh, To Vex Me
5. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: What If This Present
6. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: Since She Whom I Loved
7. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: At The Round Earth's Imagin'd Corners
8. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: Thou Hast Made Me
9. The Holy Sonnets Of John Donne, Op. 35: Death Be Not Proud
10. Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74: The Pride Of The Peacock...London
11. Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74: Prisons Are Built...The Chimney Sweeper
12. Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74: The Bird A Nest...A Poison Tree
13. Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74: Think In The Morning...The Tyger
14. Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74: The Tygers Of Wrath...The Fly
15. Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74: The Hours Of Folly...Ah, Sun-Flower
16. Songs And Proverbs Of William Blake, Op. 74: To See A World...Every Night & Every Morn
17. Billy Budd: Prologue: I Am An Old Man
18. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: Pull, My Bantams!
19. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: Guard Boat! Indomitable!
20. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: First Man Forward!
21. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: Your Name?
22. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: Billy Budd, King Of The Birds!

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: I Heard, Your Honour!
2. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: Come Along Kid! Come Along!
3. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: Christ! The Poor Chap
4. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: What's That? What's Those Whistles?
5. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 1: Starry Vere We Call Him
6. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 2: Boy!
7. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 2: Gentlemen, The King!
8. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 2: Ay, At Spithead
9. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 2: We Are, Sir. Claggart Is An Able One
10. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 3: Blow Her Away
11. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 3: We're Off To Samoa
12. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 3: Hi! You...A...A...
13. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 3: Over The Water
14. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 3: Come Here. Remember Your Promise
15. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 3: Billy!... Hist! Billy Budd!
16. Billy Budd: Act One - Scene 3: Dansker, Old Friend, Glad To See You

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 1: I Don't Like The Look Of The Mist
2. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 1: With Great Regret I Must Disturb Your Honour
3. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 1: Deck Ahoy!
4. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 1: Who'll Volunteer To Board 'Em
5. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 1: There You Are Again, Master-At-Arms
6. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 1: O This Cursed Mist!
7. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 2: Claggart, John Claggart, Beware!
8. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 2: Master-At-Arms And Foretopman
9. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 2: God O' Mercy!
10. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 2: Gentlemen, William Budd Here
11. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 2: William Budd, You Are Accused
12. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 2: Poor Fellow, Who Could Save Him?
13. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 2: I Accept Their Verdict
14. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 3: Look!
15. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 3: Here! Baby!
16. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 3: And Farewell To Ye, Old Rights O' Man!
17. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 3: Interlude
18. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 4: 'According To The Articles Of War'
19. Billy Budd: Act Two - Scene 4: Down All Hands!
20. Billy Budd: Epilogue: We Committed His Body To The Deep

Customer Reviews:

NOT SO MUCH BILLY BUDD, MORE EDWARD FAIRFAX VERE.......2006-08-31

When you look at all the operatic roles that Britten created for his lifelong partner in life and music (something in every opera except Noye), the first thing that becomes clear is how well he understood Peter Pears' voice and musical talents. The vocal lines fit the voice perfectly, utilising all its strengths and usually avoiding its weaknesses. When you look at the characters he asked Pears to play, however, a rather different picture emerges. As a performer, Pears comes across as rather refined, sophisticated, something of an aesthete, a bit of an intellectual. So, while he makes a good fist of Peter Grimes, it is Grimes the dreamer that tends to stay in the memory: the tough, violent, naïve fisherman is more Jon Vickers territory. The innocent Albert Herring, the impetuous Essex and the impassioned Lysander (though Flute was his original part) really don't work very well as characters with Pears. And, while no-one sings the trance-inducing melismas of Quint quite like him, do we really believe he is the incarnation of corrupting evil? The Male Chorus in Lucretia fares better because he is just an observer with little personality of his own. And Pears' roles in the Church Parables are sufficiently distanced by the Brechtian/Noh ritual of the pieces to allow him to view these characters more objectively.

The two parts that work best for Pears are Aschenbach, the composer's final gift to his lover, and Captain Vere in Billy Budd. Certainly Vere is something of an intellectual and an aesthete: he is a reader of Plutarch, a man somewhat out of touch with the rough sentiments of his subordinate officers, prone to using classical references they don't understand. And he is, like Aschenbach, highly susceptible to the Apollonian appeal of Billy's handsomeness, goodness and beauty (Claggart's words). One suspects that, like Aschenbach again, there is also a more Dionysian aspect to this attraction. Certainly the redemption Vere attributes to Billy's death on that clear, blue morning in enemy waters is not quite as clear and blue and cloudless as he would like to imagine.

Captain Vere is one of the most complex of all Britten's characters (at least before Aschenbach). That is, of course, thanks to the subtlety of E.M.Forster's libretto and of Britten's music. But it is also thanks to the force of Pears interpretation. I am inclined to think that this is his best performance in any of the operas on disc. He successfully adumbrates all the different sides of the role - the humanist and the military stickler, the charismatic leader of men and a man torn by internal moral dilemmas and indecisions, an outsider by nature of his rank and his own inclinations who is placed in the closest-knit of male communities. That the part is magnificently sung by Pears goes almost without saying. That he makes the character so fascinating, so complex and so real in the agony of the choices he faces is down to Pears' superlative vocal acting. In this performance it is Vere rather than Billy who is the hero, the focus of the whole opera.

Which is not to take away from what is a great team performance of this important opera. Britten never seemed able to cast Billy from the ranks of the Aldeburgh coterie - Theodor Uppman, the Billy at the premiere, was an American import; Peter Glossop on this recording, a North Country Verdi specialist. He sings the part well enough, is touching in Billy in the Darbies, but can be a little unimaginative. Claggart is in the hands of the underrated and under-recorded Michael Langdon (a great Ochs in his time), as black of voice and soul as any Wagnerian villain. The quarter-deck officers are a fine set of Britten regulars: the lower-decks boast some fine newcomers to those ranks in the likes of Robert Tear and Benjamin Luxon as the Novice and his Friend. The chorus are magnificent, whether in the drudgery of daily chores, the relaxation of shanty-singing or the excitement of battle. Britten, as you would expect, conducts his own music with a naturalness and a perception that allows detail to make its points without ever losing sight of the overall structure (all to do with two fiercely opposed key-centres, set out in the Prologue and only finding their eventual resolution in the Epilogue).

The two fill-ups on Disc 1 add to the value of the set if not seeming strictly relevant to the opera they accompany - the Metamorphoses for Oboe would have done that better. Nevertheless the Donne Sonnets from the end of the War and the Blake Songs and Proverbs from the 60's get definitive performances from Pears and Fischer-Dieskau respectively, both with the composer at the piano.

TAKING OUR SALVATION ANY WAY IT COMES.......2005-08-16

The strained economic situation of the classical music industry is working in many ways to our advantage as consumers. Britten's settings of Blake and Donne would never have been issued bundled together with Billy Budd in the vinyl era I'm quite sure. These days if we don't think one follows on from the other we don't have to get out of our armchair to select them as we please, and the composer's accounts of his own songs in partnership with Pears and Fischer-Dieskau would surely be a welcome supplement to more or less any classical cd release.

However I imagine the public for this set will consist mostly of enthusiasts for Britten's great masterpiece Billy Budd. This is music-drama, not opera, and the theme of the drama has a certain ambiguity of a kind that Britten was drawn to, as in the unresolved questions left at the end of The Turn of the Screw. The story is adapted by E M Forster and Eric Crozier from Melville. Melville's inspiration in turn was sparked off by the reportage on a court of enquiry into the execution of an ordinary seaman for mutiny. The captain who had so ordered had been advised that the evidence against the seaman was thin. Perceiving nonetheless a need to encourage the others by executing someone, the captain prevailed on the trial officers to take a more forward-leaning view. This they duly did, the captain explained to the man about to be hanged that this was all for the greater glory of the flag, whereupon the man blessed captain and flag.

The story of Billy Budd quite obviously had powerful resonance for Forster and Britten. It is a chamber drama basically, for all the background of war at sea between Britain and revolutionary France. There are three main actors - Billy himself, the captain, and the master-at-arms John Claggart. The action, on the face of it, seems small-scale. Claggart conceives a vicious spite against the innocent but adept and personable Billy, strong enough, it seems, for him to try to frame Billy on the capital charge of mutiny. The captain in this case recognises Claggart for the lying ratbag that he is, but goes through the formality of having Billy face his accuser. Rendered inarticulate by his stutter, Billy (whose loyalty to the captain would grace any dog) lashes out with his fist and his one punch kills Claggart. The captain knows the true score perfectly well, but hides behind formal processes again, in the full knowledge that he is thereby condemning an innocent man to death. However just listen to the music accompanying Claggart's first entrance - it would be very overblown just for some spiteful nonentity. Claggart, though unpopular and clearly unpleasant, is not a psychopath, but his hatred of Billy is unprovoked and his scheming is without any motive of personal advantage in an ordinary sense. What it all seems to amount to for Forster and Britten is firstly a parable of some cosmic evil aroused by innocence - the insignificant Claggart is given an Iago-like monologue of enormous and generalised portentousness as well as that sinister introduction from the orchestra. The drama then advances to a near-Faustian level in which the captain seems to stand outside himself and see eternal forces at work, with himself as a pawn in their strategy rather than just a human buck-passer of an all-too-familiar type. It all ends with Billy blessing the captain like the seaman in the original report, and there is an epilogue in which the captain, near the end of his life, reflects on the salvation this blessing brought him.

It must be the easiest, or at least the quickest, transition to salvation in all serious drama. A few hours and that was all done and dusted. I can't really imagine that many spectators or listeners will identify with a theme like this, but there is no mistaking the strength of the response it evokes from Britten. Add Forster to that, and maybe to some extent Melville himself, and it is time to suspend scepticism and realise that we are being given a glimpse of a very special, even elite, vision of how deity, or fate or whatever, operates. Most of us probably do not see things this way, but most of us are not Forster or Britten or Melville. As for authenticity in performance, that is self-defined here.

The foregoing is one man's interpretation of what this strange and elusive drama might be saying. We can be sure of one thing at least - whatever it all really signifies we are hearing it here. The cast are excellent - this work is a team job, not an opera with star solos, although Billy's final song (in rhyming verse and as truly an aria as anything by Britten's beloved Verdi) is done to what seems to me to be perfection by Peter Glossop. The LSO and the Ambrosian Singers do not let anyone down either, and the 1968 recording still sounds well. Such is the composer's sheer technical skill that it was only after the work had finished that I realised that this whole music-drama contains not one note for a female voice. You may understand the work differently, but you will be hard put to it to experience the power of it more than I have done, whatever it all may mean or imply.

A Great Performance By the Composer.......2001-12-08

I recently saw a terrific performance of Billy Budd and the sheer excitement of the opera led me to seek out a copy. I read reviews of the available records and came to choose this one. The reason was the dramatic tension that the composer brings to this recording. The sets by Kent Nagano and Richard Hickox are also excellent but I was won over by the fact that this is Benjamin Britten's last word on his opera.

The only disadvantage would be that this is a remastered and not a digital recording but the sound is certainly clear and the casting is superb. Peter Glossop is a perfect Billy Budd and brings out the goodness of his character wonderfully. Michael Langdon is a menacing John Claggart and Sir Peter Pears is an able Captain Vere. The entire cast sing their roles with great ability and I think no one would be disappointed in owning this set.

Perhaps oddly, two other works by Britten are included: The Holy Sonnets of John Donne and Songs and Proverbs of William Blake, both for piano and voice. In the former work, Britten is joined by Peter Pears and in the latter by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Both works are solemn in character and I doubt that I will play them very often. I am not sure why they were included here unless Decca, who recorded then around the same time, made the decision that they would not sell well on their own. On the other hand, I will be listening to Billy Budd frequently.

Average customer rating: "Simply a Stunner" Good choice for opera lovers.

Simply the Best Night at the Opera Giacomo Puccini , Jacques Offenbach , Gaetano Donizetti , Georges Bizet , Gioachino Rossini , Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , George Frideric Handel , Igor Stravinsky , Jules Massenet , Antonin Dvorak , Camille Saint-Saëns , Benjamin Britten , Claudio Monteverdi , Giuseppe Verdi , Hector Berlioz , Charles Gounod , Henry Purcell , Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , Richard Wagner , English Chamber Orchestra , Munich Bavarian State Orchestra , Strasbourg Philharmonic Orchestra , Lyon National Opera Orchestra & Chorus , Prague Symphony Orchestra , Orchestre National de France , Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra , and Halle Orchestra Manufacturer: Erato ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Berlioz | Berlioz, Hector | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Donizetti | Donizetti, Gaetano | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Dvorák, Antonín | ( D ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Handel | Handel, George Frideric | ( H ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Massenet | Massenet, Jules | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Monteverdi | Monteverdi, Claudio | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Offenbach | Offenbach, Jacques | ( O ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Puccini | Puccini, Giacomo | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Purcell, Henry | ( P ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Saint-Saëns, Camille | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Stravinsky | Stravinsky, Igor | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tchaikovsky | Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wagner | Wagner, Richard | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Purcell, Henry | Composers | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Vocal & Song | Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Hadley, Jerry | ( H ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music National Philharmonic Orchestra London | ( N ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Paris Symphony Orchestra | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Baroque (c.1600-1750) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Czech | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: The #1 Opera Album The Most Famous Opera Duets A - Z of Opera (includes 762 page booklet) The Best of Italian Opera Nessun Dorma ~ 20 Great Tenor Arias / Pavarotti, Carreras, Domingo, Bergonzi, Aragall, Björling, Di Stefano, Kollo, Corelli, Del Monaco... ASIN: B00000J9HR Release Date: 1999-07-06

Tracks:

1. Turnadot: Nessun Dorma
2. Gianni Schicchi: O mio babbino caro
3. Les Conte d'Hoffmann: Messiers, Silence!
4. L'Elisir diAmore: Una fortiva lagrima
5. Carmen: Je Dis que rien ne m'epouvant
6. Les pecheurs de perles: Au fond du temple saint
7. L'Inganno felice: Al piu dolce
8. Cosi fan tutte: Soave sia il vento
9. Xerxes: Ombra mai fu
10. The Rake's Progress: Quietly, night
11. L'Italiana: Gia d'insolito ardore nel petto
12. Les Contes d'Hoffmann: Les oiseaux dans la charmille
13. Werther: Pourquoi me revieller
14. Rusalka: Song To The Moon

Tracks:

1. La Boheme: O soave faciulla
2. Samson et Dalila: Mon coeur s'ouvre a ta voix
3. La nozze di Figaro: Voi, che sapete che cosa e amor
4. Billy Budd: Look! ... Through The Port Come The Moonshine Astray!
5. L'Incoronazione di Poppea: Lameto di Ottavia: 'Diprezzata Regina'
6. Rigoletto: Gaultier Malde ... caro nome
7. Manon Lescant: Donna on vidi mia
8. Madama Butterfly: Un bel di vedreno
9. La Damnation de Faust: D'amour l'ardente flamme
10. Faust: Vous qui faites l'endormie
11. Dido's Lament: Thy Hand, Belinda - When I Am Laid In Earth
12. Yolanta: Scene & Monologue By Ibn Hakia
13. Carmen: Votre toast, je peaux le rendre
14. TOSCA: E lucevan le stelle
15. Tannhauser: Wie Todesahnung Damn'rung deckt die Lande ...

Customer Reviews:

"Simply a Stunner".......2006-07-21

Ideal for an opera lover, or for anyone who loves gorgeous singing. I am an opera nut and was introduced to this one by accident; "Au gond du temple saint" from Pearl Fishers (selection #6, disc one) was playing on the stereo in the Metropolitan Opera giftshop when I walked in at intermission one night. I thought it was so stunning I bought my first copy of the CD then and there; and have bought 2 other "back-up copies" since then, as well as having it on my iPod.

Good choice for opera lovers........2001-08-16

If you are in search of a cd containing various popular pieces from the greatest operas in the world, then search no more. This cd contains classic operatic pieces, sung by some of the most talented tenors and sopranos out there, including Placido Domingo. Madame Butterfly's Un Bel Di and Turandot's Nessun Dorma are, without a doubt, two of the most emotional and dramatic songs ever composed. Fortunately, this inexpensive two cd set includes those songs and many more. This cd is a delight to own, whether or not you've ever attended an opera.

Average customer rating: A good collection A Musician of Great Dignity and Style Passed the "Opera in English" test with flying colors.

Great Operatic Arias Manufacturer: Chandos ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Lehár, Franz | ( L ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart | Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Strauss Jr., Johann | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tchaikovsky | Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Thomas | Thomas, Ambroise | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wagner | Wagner, Richard | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Rossini | Rossini, Gioacchino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Allen, Thomas | ( A ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music London Philharmonic Orchestra | ( L ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Similar Items: A Treasury of English Song Songs My Father Taught Me More Songs My Father Taught Me On the Idle Hill of Summer: Song Cycles & Songs by Vaughan Williams, Butterworth, Quilter, Peel Great Baritone Arias ASIN: B0006SGF1Y Release Date: 2005-02-22

Tracks:

1. 'Even Bravest Heart My Swell'
2. 'I Am The Barber Everyone Wants, I Am!
3. 'Must I Be Made To Suffer'
4. 'Look Down, Oh Gentle Evening Star'
5. 'You Have My Love And My Devotion
6. 'Oh Wine, Deliver Me From Sadness' - Geoffrey Mitchell Choir
7. 'Marriage Is Sacred' - I Was Right To Be So Suspicious'
8. 'Turning My Gaze Upon This Proud Assembly'
9. 'O Nadir, Best Of Friends'
10. Billy In The Darbies
11. 'Though I'm Somewhat Out Of Practice' - Janice Watson
12. 'Hello, Here's A Soldier Bold' - Janice Watson
13. 'I Wonder What He'll Think Of Me!'
14. 'In Visions, Illusions'

Customer Reviews:

A good collection.......2007-05-14

Unlike the huge names, collections by Allen are not many - plenty of his opera performances are recorded, but there are only a few collections. My voice teacher recommended I listen to him to understand better how to deliver power without weight, something we've been working on. Yes, it's all in English, but that's fine, and the quality of Allen's instrument comes through very well.

A Musician of Great Dignity and Style.......2005-07-27

Sir Thomas Allen is one of the enduring baritones who has been able to move throughout the operatic repertoire and the recital stage with intelligence, informed characterization, and immaculate musicianship. To have a recording of some of the roles he has inhabited at this point in his career is a gift (this CD was recorded in 2003). To have the added challenge of retaining the stature of the roles while sung in English translations at the request of Chandos is a credit to his abilities and communicative powers.

English is a difficult language to make musical, though saying that abruptly is countered by the fact that some of the most beautiful operas in history are by Benjamin Britten, a composer who truly understood his native tongue and kept it as fluid as the soaring melodies he wrote, as Thomas Allen proves here in 'Billy in the Darbies' from Britten's 'Billy Budd'. It is the other major arias from Korngold to Wagner to Tchaikovsky to Rossini, Bizet, Mozart, Gounod, Verdi, Thomas, Strauss, and Lehar that Allen proves that English translations do not detract at all from the performances!

For those purists who prefer opera sung in the original language (and for those who don't even need supertitles in the opera house!), then this recording may provide a temporary barrier to respecting Allen's singing. But once caught up in the ease with which he moves from style to style and comedy to drama, it is hard not to relinquish old preferences and not be wholly impressed with the beauty of the voice and the warmth and dignity of this fine musician. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, July 05

Passed the "Opera in English" test with flying colors........2005-07-04

For me, the test here was Figaro's Cavatina, from Rossini's Barber of Seville - sung in English, as is this entire compilation of 14 operatic favorites, sung by baritone Sir Thomas Allen. Could he pull it off? Could Chandos pull it off? The answer is an unequivocal, unqualified yes! The secret in singing classics in English, that were written and scored in another language, is in three things: pacing, vocal agility and appreciation for "fit", and what greater test for tongue and timing than Figaro? When you listen to this one song, you will understand why Chandos and its benefactor, Sir Peter Moores have such a passion for their Opera in English series. Sir Allen's voice is a matured unmistakably settled baritone voice that contains a lifetime's worth of understanding of the music and words he imparts through his magnificent delivery. For example, when he sings, Tchaikovsky's "You have my love and devotion" from The Queen of Spades, he delivers a smooth and deeply emotional rendition that lacks nothing in translation. Wagner's "Turning my gaze upon this proud assembly", from Tannhäuser is another example of how fine, full orchestration behind a seasoned voice that waxes eloquent with every phrase, can create a mood of relaxed familiarity with word and music, that may be lacking when sung in another tongue. Great Operatic Arias, serves up a smorgasbord of tunes that are familiar, made more so by the care and attention given to creating a place for the Opera in English series in every home library. The mood here is romantic, relaxed and with few exceptions consistent throughout. If you haven't heard Opera in English, this might be a good way to start, given the fact that the listener gets to sample how different composers might sound in other than German, Italian or French. You might be surprised to discover that when done with care, as is obviously the case here, the sound is about as good as it gets. As an added bonus, the booklet that comes with the CD is full of pictures, libretto in English, and biography that gives us a good insight into history of the singer and his identifying rolls.

Average customer rating: Oh my gawd.... Bo Knows Opera ANOTHER WONDERFUL BARITONE Bo Skovhus at his best Light years beyond Hampson

Bo Skovhus Sings Opera Arias Erich Wolfgang Korngold , Ambroise Thomas , Charles Gounod , Jules Massenet , Giuseppe Verdi , Benjamin Britten , Richard Wagner , Pyotr Il'yich Tchaikovsky , English National Opera Orchestra , James Conlon , and Bo Skovhus Manufacturer: Sony ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Gounod | Gounod, Charles | ( G ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | ( K ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Massenet | Massenet, Jules | ( M ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Tchaikovsky | Tchaikovsky, Peter Ilyich | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Thomas | Thomas, Ambroise | ( T ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Verdi | Verdi, Giuseppe | ( V ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music All Works by Wagner | Wagner, Richard | ( W ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Korngold, Erich Wolfgang | Composers | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Romances | Classical (c.1770-1830) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Romantic (c.1820-1910) | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Arias | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music German | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Italian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Russian | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music Similar Items: Bo Skovhus - Schwanengesang & Schubert's Last Songs Bo Skovhus - The Heart of the Poet (Das Herz des Dichters) ~ Songs by Robert & Clara Schumann Bo Skovhus - Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin The Very Best of Thomas Hampson Lehar - Merry Widow / Kenny, Skovhus, Kirchschlager, Turay, Kunzel, San Francisco Opera ASIN: B00000AG7L Release Date: 1998-09-15

Tracks:

1. Die tote Stadt: 'Da Ihr befehlet, Konigin...Mein Schnen, mein Wahnen'
2. Hamlet: 'Spectre infernal!'
3. Hamlet: 'C'est en croyant revoir...O vin, dissipe la tristesse!'
4. Hamlet: 'J'ai pu frapper le miserable...Etre ou ne pas etre'
5. Hamlet: 'La fatigue alourdit mes pas...Comme une pale fleur'
6. Faust: 'Avant de quitter ces lieux'
7. Werther: 'Pourquoi me reveiller, o souffle du printemps?'
8. Don Carlos: 'C'est moi Carlos...Oui, Carlos! Oui, c'est mon jour supreme...Carlos, ecoute'
9. Billy Budd: Look! Through The Port... And Farewell To Ye, Old Rights O' Man!'
10. Tannhauser: 'Blick' ich umher in diesem edlen Kreise'
11. Tannhauser: 'Wie Todesahnung Dammrung deckt die Lande...O du, mein holder Abendstern'
12. Eugene Onegin: 'Vy mne pisali'
13. Eugene Onegin: 'Uzel ta samaja Tat'jana'
14. Pique Dame: 'Vy tak pecal'ny, dorogaja...Ja vas ljublju'

Customer Reviews:

Oh my gawd...........2004-06-24

What a wondrous singer...I absolutely agree with all the other reviews here but add:

1) he sounds as though he's singing in his First Language, whether it be French, English, German or Russian.

2) he lets his soul come out (simce Mme Callas this remains a rare event).

3) Sidebar: the San Francisco Merry Widow, whilst a delight and a wonder, is NOT fair to this man's voice.

A magnificent recital album. Every prominent opera singer out there should be jealous.

Bo Knows Opera.......2002-08-28

In the forward to this cd, John Bell Young, makes the argument that the darker, mellow baritone is an often underated part of the opera repetoire. I don't fully agree with him - there are fantastic, exciting lead roles for these men: Hamlet, Nabucco, Rigoletto, and The Barber of Seville - all glittering showcases of virtuoso. And even the supporting roles they often play, are thrilling - Scarpia can easily steal the show away from Tosca and her hero with his magnicent, albeit short, scenes; and Escamillo often wins not only the affection of Carmen, but that of an entire opera house... Still, all said and done, this is an interesting introduction to a man who is every bit as dashing, musical, and talented as any tenor to grace the stage.
Bo Skovhus showcases such extreme range in vocal talents and emotion. His tone is beautiful. His breath control and phrasing are astounding. Diction is clear and defined - especially the German arias. This is an extremely talented man.
The Korngold aria is mesmerizing in it's romantic beauty. But my favorite selections on this album are the pieces from "Hamlet"; this is french lyricism at its most marvelous, glorious, heart-sweeping grandeur. I can not imagine a better man to play this most famous anti-hero.
I cannot recommend this cd highly enough. While some Italian arias would have been a nice addition, I won't hold it against my recommendation. Skovhus's interpretation of the tenor's aria from "Werther" makes up for this.
Next time you are out purchasing yet another famous tenor's album, to hear the one hundreth version of "Celeste Aida", buy this cd instead. Give this baritone a chance, and soon you'll be humming songs a minor third lower.

ANOTHER WONDERFUL BARITONE.......2002-08-23

I first heard Bo Skovhus on a Laser Disc recording of the War Requem. I was very impressed. However until this opera recital I had not heard him again. This is truly an impressive recording. I place him up there with my other favorite baritones! He's still young so, hopefully, he has many more good years left in him!

Bo Skovhus at his best.......2002-05-17

Bo Skovhus' lovers undoubtedly awaited this comprehensive choice of arias, which almost concludes his (still young) operaic work. Well known alongside less known operas constitutes a perfect choice. From Verdi through Thomas, from Korngold to Britten and the Russian arias, mastering the variety of languages, and dealing with every single role in a very sensitive way. This unique choice and the qualities of his full, beautiful and warm voice makes one regret, that the entire opera was not recorded with him in the relevant roles, like Thomas's Hamlet for example, or Britten's Billy Budd. It leaves a taste of wanting to hear more of this young and talented Baritone, whose repertoire is much larger than could be presented in one - indeed excellent - CD.

Light years beyond Hampson.......2001-12-09

I just can't heap enough praise on Skovhus. I saw him for the first time at the Houston Grand Opera in a production of Billy Budd and was sold. This CD demonstrates very well what an immensely expressive and flexible voice Skovhus possesses. He has incredible core to his voice which allows him to attack bravado sections with zeal, but also has the musical expressivity to pull back and caress piano lines with ease and artistry while still maintaining his core sound. Hampson, who is notorious for becoming breathy and pop-like in pianissimo passages, can't touch Skovhus with a 10, 100, or 1000 foot pole.

Skovhus is undoubtedly one of the most talented lyric baritones of our time. He ranks right up there in terms of vocal talent with Brynn Terfel, and far beyond Terfel in terms of total artistry. In fact, I wouldn't be going to far to claim that Skovhus is one of the best baritones EVER (my apologies to James Maddalena). Trust me when I say that you would do yourself a disservice to NOT buy this CD.

Average customer rating: Britten at his best A riveting live performance, in great sound This performance falls short Great Opera, Great performance ,Splendid Sound Quality Incredible

Britten - Billy Budd / Hampson · Rolfe Johnson · Halfvarson · Smythe · Saks · Nagano Benjamin Britten , Hallé Orchestra , Kent Nagano , Anthony Rolfe Johnson , Thomas Hampson , Eric Halfvarson , Russell Smythe , Gidon Saks , and Manchester Boys Choir Simon Wilding Manufacturer: Wea International ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Classical | Imports | Stores | Music Similar Items: Peter Lieberson: Neruda Songs ASIN: B000006CS4 Release Date: 2005-08-17

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act 1: Prologue
2. Billy Budd: Act 1: Scene I: Pull, My Bantams
3. Billy Budd: Act 1: Scene I: Send For John Claggart
4. Billy Budd: Act 1: Scene I: Billy Budd, King Of The Birds (Billy)
5. Billy Budd: Act 1: Scene I: I Heard, Your Honour! (Claggar)
6. Billy Budd: Act 1: Scene I: Come Along, Kid!
7. Billy Budd: Act 1: Scene I: Christ, The Poor Chap, The Poor Little Runt! (Billy)
8. Billy Budd: Act 1: Scene I: Vere! Vere! Officers And Men... (Vere)
9. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene I: My Compliments... (Vere)
10. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene I: Don't Like The French!
11. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene I: Oh, That's Nothing (Vere)
12. Billy Budd: Interlude and Scene 2: Blow Her Away
13. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene 2: Here Lads!
14. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene 2: Come Out Of That! (Billy)
15. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene 2: O Beauty, O Handsomeness (Claggart)
16. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene 2: Come Here, Remember Your Promise! (Claggart)
17. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene 2: Billy! Hist, Billy Budd!
18. Billy Budd: Act 2: Scene 2: Dansker, Old Friend (Billy)

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 1: I Don't Like The Look Of The Mist! (Vere)
2. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 1: Deck Ahoy!
3. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 1: All Guns Ready Sir!
4. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 1: There Are You Again, Master-At-Arms (Vere)
5. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 1: Nay, Nay, You're Mistaken (Vere)
6. Billy Budd: IInterlude and Scene 2: Claggart, John Claggart, Beware (Vere)
7. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 2: You Wanted To See Me (Billy)
8. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 2: God O'Mercy! (Vere)
9. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 2: Interlude. William Budd, You Are Accused
10. Billy Budd: Act 3: Scene 2: Poor Fellow, Who Could Save Him?
11. Billy Budd: I Accept Their Verdict (Vere)
12. Billy Budd: Act 4: Scene 1: Look! Through The Port Comes The Moonshine Astray! (Billy)
13. Billy Budd: Act 4: Scene 1: And Farewell To Ye (Billy)
14. Billy Budd: Act 4: Scene 1: According To The Articles Of War
15. Billy Budd: Act 4: Scene 1: Starry Vere
16. Billy Budd: Act 4: Scene 1: We Committed His Body To The Deep (Vere)

Amazon.com essential recording

Benjamin Britten's "Billy Budd," based on Melville's story, is the second-best opera about life on the sea since Wagner's "Flying Dutchman"--the best being Britten's "Peter Grimes." It is one of the 20th Century's most tragic operas and the only important opera with an all-male cast. Its music evokes the ocean: the winds and waves, the sailors' songs, and the harsh realities of a seaman's life on a British 18th-century man-of-war. It climaxes in a deadly confrontation between pure good, embodied in the young sailor Billy Budd (Hampson), and pure evil in the sadistic master at arms, John Claggart (Halfvarson). Composed in 1951, it was shortened to the now standard two acts by Britten for a broadcast in 1960. This brilliant first recording of the original four-act version shows that much was lost in the revision. --Joe McLellan

Customer Reviews:

Britten at his best.......2007-02-05

I must admit that I am late in coming to this wonderful recording. I purchased the more recent Chandos recording led by Hickox that features Simon Keenlyside in the title role. That recording is wonderful and you may read my review thereof if you wish, but let us come to this equally fine reading of Britten's masterful score by Nagano and company. Here we find Billy Budd in it's original Four Act version. The added (or rather, subtracted) material brings with it a greater understnding of the characters, particularly Captain Vere and how his men perceive him, but is not necessary to the drama and was thusly omitted. The music is hauntingly beautiful and if you are familiar with the more commercialy available Two Act version, then the restored music found here will be a real treat. The singing is most excellent, particularly from Thomas Hampson in the title role. This wonderful baritone has the perfect tone quality for the role of Billy and his English declamation is superb. He is nicely foiled by the Claggart of Eric Halfvarson, whose dark, menacing tone rules the set when he is present. Caught between them as Vere is Anthony Rolfe Johnson. The Englishman's tenor is well-suited if a little light for Vere's high-lying line. The men of the ensemble sing magnificently and Nagano absolutely flies through the score, though the listener never feels that he is rushing, only that the action is leading to its inevitable, tragic end. Very highly recommended!

A riveting live performance, in great sound.......2005-10-27

The British prefer Britten operas not to be overly exciting, and even the composer's classic Decca recording of Billy Budd is much less dynamic than the premiere performance from 1951, which can still be heard in serviceable pirated mono (VAI). Kent Nagaon changed all that with this riveting live performance from 1997 with the Halle Orchestra, playing as if their lives depended on it. The full oppression and buried anger of the sailors is caught from the very first and builds with tremendous force to the moment when they witness, through frightening wordless agony, the hanging of Billy Budd.

Nagano conducts the original 4-act version, but his tempos are vigorous enough to capture the whole opera on 2 CDs (other recordings, even of the revised 2-act version, take three). Abetted by sonics that are super-charged with vitality, Nagaono papers over the stretches of less-than-compelling music that crop up, and he uses ever-shifting orchestral color to enliven the potential monotony of an all-male opera.

Of the leads, Rolfe-Johnson stands out for his haunted, emotionallly driven Vere, the best reading in dramatic terms since Pears premiered the role. Hampson doesn't sound as young as Simon Keenlyside on the Hickox set, or as charmistmatic and innocent as Thomas Uppmann at the premiere, but he is a great interpreter of this role, once you accept that he often sounds more like Thomas Hampson than a gang-pressed British sailor. Halfverson sings a dark Claggart with plenty of ocnviction, but there is wobble in his voice, and it clouds his diciton. The minor roles are sung very well; the chorus is the best on ecords.

Altogether, this is a riveting musical experience, and it should convert many American listeners to one of the masterpieces of opera in English, a work fully the equal and in some ways the superior to Peter Grimes, which is much better known in this country.

This performance falls short.......2004-10-12

I appreciate this recording of Billy Budd as a historical document. The liner notes give insight into the original 1951 production and argue the strengths of the four-act version of the opera. We get to hear Captain Vere address the ship's crew before sailing into enemy waters, which motivates Billy's declaration of loyalty to him.

I feel, however, that this recording is lacking on several levels. Kent Nagano conducts the work at such a brisk pace that it feels like he was mandated to fit the work onto two CDs instead of three. Some scenes aren't given enough breath and breadth, like the 34-chord interlude after Billy's trial.

Thomas Hampson sings Billy with careful, attentive declamation but it doesn't sound like he is embodying the young, free-spirited sailor. Anthony Rolfe Johnson has a crystal-clear tone that doesn't suit Captain Vere. In the main action of the drama the captain is a world-wise commander and in the prologue/epilogue he is a world-weary old man. ARJ just sounds too youthful and robust for the role. Eric Halfvarson's Claggart is a constant distraction. His snarling bass has a wobbly shake instead of a vibrato, which grates to my ear.

This version might be worth borrowing from your library network, but the set to own is the Chandos release conducted by Richard Hickox. Each soloist is suited to his role, from ranking officer down to able seaman, and the dramatic pace is powerfully effective.

Great Opera, Great performance ,Splendid Sound Quality.......2003-08-06

My own bias: Melville lover. This is the only 20th century opera in English I've ever found really emotionally involving as a drama. It's a unique blend of 20th century sensibility and 20th century style with, somehow a 19th century flavor. Note how Billy's Act IV moonlight reflections on his execution set for the dawn is set to the same gentle rocking figure that Berlioz used for Hylas' lonely song in Les Troyens. I wonder whether it is even possible that Britten in 1950 could have known that Berlioz piece. The libretto by WH Auden is a wonderful humanizing of Melville's hard crystalline cerebral story of a good man confronting a fathomless evil, and "having" to abet the evil by killing a purely good man for the "greater good" of his ship and country. He manages to get across a great deal of the complexity of Melville's short novel while adding opportunities for warmth and humor. And manages to make a slightly fatuous "Captain Vere has become a good man due to his contact with Billy" ending a reasonably acceptable conclusion even to someone like me who would prefer to leave the tale as Melville did, without that comforting thought.
Britten takes full advantage of every opportunity Auden gives him, setting scenes that move like good drama, with sweep and pace, and creates an unforgettable ending with the brass writing for Billy's hanging somehow dangling and twisting in the air with his body (never seen in either of the two productions I've seen) No need. Britten is both eyes and ears here.
I've never seen the 4-act version, just the 2-act revision
usually staged. Much was lost in the cutting. This recording is in really magnificent full throated sound with a very strong cast singing wonderfully and Kent Nagano never missing an opportunity for meaningfull phrasing. He instills, improbably but beautifully, a delicacy which is a perfect counterbalance to the vastness of the story and the orchestral force involved. I can see that i've gushed here. This recording deserves it. One of the treasures of my collection.

Incredible.......2003-06-24

All I can say is that the singers, orchestra, and conductor were a perfect match for this recording. I have seen Kent Negano many a time at the LA Opera and am always impressed, but this is his most impressive endeavor yet. Hampson and Rolfe Johnson sing the heck out of the roles. In general a superb recording to have in your collection.

Average customer rating:

Britten: Billy Budd Manufacturer: Orfeo D'or ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B00022XECW Release Date: 2004-05-25

Average customer rating:

Britten: The Rape of Lucretia Manufacturer: Gala ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music Brannigan, Owen | ( B ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music Pears, Sir Peter | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Classical | Styles | Music Britten, Sir Benjamin | A to B | Featured Composers, A-Z | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Opera & Vocal | Box Sets | Stores | Music CDs $7 - $10 | Operas | Opera & Vocal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music All Bargain Titles | Operas | Opera & Vocal | Today's Deals in Music | Formats | Music ASIN: B00004ZE02 Release Date: 2000-09-19

Average customer rating: A great historical moment, if you don't mind the pirate sonics A unique chance to hear the very first cast of Billy Budd

Britten: Billy Budd Manufacturer: Video Artists Int'l ProductGroup: Music Binding: Audio CD All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General Modern | Modern, 20th, & 21st Century | Historical Periods | Classical | Styles | Music General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music Pears, Sir Peter | ( P ) | Featured Performers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music English | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music Operettas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music ASIN: B000003LJ7 Release Date: 1995-01-31

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Prologue: I Am An Old Man...
2. Billy Budd: Act l: Pull, My Bantams! Pull, My Sparrow-Legs!
3. Billy Budd: Act l: Boat Ahoy! Guard Boat! Indomitable!
4. Billy Budd: Act l: Billy Budd, King Of The Birds!
5. Billy Budd: Act l: I Heard, Your Honour! Yes! I Heard.
6. Billy Budd: Act l: Come Along, Kid!
7. Billy Budd: Act l: That's The One To Study If You Want To Dodge Punishment.
8. Billy Budd: Act l: Officers And Men Of The Indomitable, I Greet You!
9. Billy Budd: Act ll. Boy! My Compliments To Mr. Redburn And Mr. Flint...
10. Billy Budd: Act ll. Ay, At Spithead The Men May Have Had Their Grievances...
11. Billy Budd: Act ll. Orchestral Interlude; Blow Her Away! Blow Her To Hilo, Riley!
12. Billy Budd: Act ll. Here Lads! Here! Come Here! Remember This One?

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act ll. Handsomely Done, My Lad.
2. Billy Budd: Act ll. Come Here. Remember Your Promise
3. Billy Budd: Act ll. Billy! Hist, Billy Budd!
4. Billy Budd: Act ll. Dansker Old Friend, Glad To See You
5. Billy Budd: Act lll. I Don't Like The Look Of The Mist, Mister Redburn
6. Billy Budd: Act lll. Deck Ahoy! Enemy Sail On Starboard Bow!
7. Billy Budd: Act lll. There You Are Again, Master-At-Arms.
8. Billy Budd: Act lll. Orchestral Interlude; Claggart, John Claggart, Beware!

Tracks:

1. Billy Budd: Act lll. (You Must) Forget All That For The Moment.
2. Billy Budd: Act lll. The Mists Have Cleared.
3. Billy Budd: Act lll. Orchestral Interlude; William Budd, You Are Accused...
4. Billy Budd: Act lll. I Accept Their Verdict
5. Billy Budd: Act lV. Look! Through The Port Comes The Moonshine Astray!
6. Billy Budd: Act lV. Orchestral Interlude; 'According To The Articles Of War...'
7. Billy Budd: Act lV. Epilogue: We Committed His Body To The Deep.

Customer Reviews:

A great historical moment, if you don't mind the pirate sonics.......2005-09-24

Pirated recordings, usually taken from radio sources or portable tape recorders sneaked into the theater, have risen to semi-respectability in recent years. This is one of the most treasurable, a great performance caught in listenable mono sound. Uppman remains the ideal Billy Budd, not only for his mesmerizing good looks (crucial to Melville's concpetoin of angelic innocence) but also for his unique ability to make Billy sound innocent. Pears is the ideal Vere, here caught in much better voice than on the later studio rcording. This used to be the only version of the original, unrevised score that you cuold buy, but that lacuna has been filled by the live Nagano performance on Erato, which is excellent. In terms of sound this Billy Budd ranks dead last and always will, but in terms of drama and musicality, it ranks near the top.

A unique chance to hear the very first cast of Billy Budd.......2000-08-06

The technical flaws of this unique recording are outweighed indeed by the magic and beauty of this performance by the original cast, conducted by Britten himself. The technical flaws (reputed to be due to the fact that the source of this CD is a amateur-recording of a 1951 performance of this beautiful opera) make for instance Claggart's voice sound at one - happily non-crucial - point rather wavy, rather like tapes sometimes sound after having listenend to them too much. Still, moments like these are very rare and in a way add to the nostalgia of this recording of 1951 being now finally available. The music and the singing this CD offers have a magical flavour. Claggart, Vere and Billy are sung with emotional profundity and make this CD well worth the purchase for every Britten fan (and every E. M. Forster fan of course; together with Eric Crozier he wrote the libretto, which Britten called the best libretto he had ever heard).

Meditation Music:

1. Die Zauberflöte / Popp, Gruberova, Lindner, Jerusalem, Brendel, Bracht, Bailey Zednik; Haitink
2. Falstaff
3. Francesca Da Rimini
4. Franz Lehár: The Merry Widow
5. Gaetano Donizetti: Lucia de Lammermoor
6. Georg Friedrich Handel: Xerxes
7. Gershwin: Porgy and Bess [Soundtrack]
8. Gilbert & Sullivan: The Yeomen of The Guard / Marriner
9. Gioacchino Rossini: Barber of Seville
10. Giordano: Fedora [Import]

Meditation Music

meditation music

Meditation Music

Sinéad O'Connor: Best Of [Import]

Dvorák:Serenade In E Major/Serenade In D Minor

Concerto for Clarinet & Orchestra

Music: Party Time 2004

Clubland X-Treme, Vol. 2 [Import]

Different

Couscous Beat [Import]

Changes in Latitudes Changes in Attitudes

Compilation for Reach for the Rainbow [Import]

Dr Byrds & Mr Hyde [Import] [Limited Edition]

Changing the Pace

Canta Zouck [Import]

Down South Ballin', Vol. 2

Instrumentals from Back in Da Day

Rock & Roll Ligger