Search - Benjamin Britten, Daniel Harding, London Symphony Orchestra :: Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd (3 CD)

A excellent 'Billy Budd' if you can get past a seriously mis

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 10/15/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I doubt even the beloved Britten himself could have prompted EMI to front money for a new studio recording of his masterpiece,'Billy Budd,' but recording a concert performance from London's Barbican Hall last December paid off artistically. Daniel Harding's leadership of the London Sym. is electrifying, and the whole cast seems inspired by the occasion (even more so than on Nagano's exceptionally fine version on Erato, also done in concert with the Halle Orch.). I have never heard the score played better, not even under the composer, and since Harding is a major talent, any lover of this opera can feel confident that wonderful things happen on the podium -- a five-star account on that score.



Almost as satisfying is Billy Budd himself as sung by Nathan Gunn. The role of the 'handsome sailor' is ambiguously positioned between beauty as a spiritual quality (Billy as Jesus) and a sexual one (Billy as Eros). Gunn is one of the new class of physically captivating singers who fit the erotic aspect, and he also has a light, flexible voice that seems more innocent than either Peter Glossop, who sang the role under Britten's baton (Decca) or Thomas Hampson (for Nagano). Critics may find that Gunn's voice lacks 'face,'and for sheer volume and beauty of voice he can't match Hampson, but he is musical and touching.



His tormentor and anguished secret admirer, Claggart, is turned into a snarling, barrel-voiced sadist by Gidon Saks, a power-house basso profundo. As much as I'd prefer to hear a more shaded characterization, Saks creates a powerful melodramatic effect. Which brings us to the third leg of the tripod, Captain Vere, who sees Billy in spiritual terms but feels compelled to sentence him to death. The singer for whom the part was written, Peter Pears, could encompass many shades of psychological tension, and in his way so could Pears's latter-day replacement, Ian Bostridge, under the right conditions. Unfortunately, good as he was as Quint in Harding's great 'Turn of the Screw,' Bostridge is seriously miscast here.



The voice is perpetually juvenile, and that doesn't work for either side of Vere: the commanding figure who inspires his men in battle or the aged Vere recalling the tale in a state of tortued guilt. Bostridge sounds like the cabin boy dressed up in an officer's uniform. The poignancy and force of Vere's apotheosis in the final minutes of the opera just don't come across. If you can get past this problem, as I couldn't, he has much to offer. All the minor roles are taken by exemplary English stalwarts, and the chorus is exceptionally fine, the best on any rendition.



Virgin/EMI's sound is close-up and very clear, allowing us to hear E.M. Forster's literate -- and literary -- libretto. For 'Billy Budd' aficionados, this is the revised two-act version rather than the original four-act one, which was too bellicose for the pacifist Pears. Frankly, I think the aciton needs the omitted patriotic displays, so I prize the Nagano set, which reverts back to the original score, before Pears convinced Britten to revise it.



There hasn't been a bad 'Billy Budd' since the premiere in 1951 (you can hear an air-check on VAI), so this new one joins a golden tradition. For me, it earns its place on the shelf largely due to Harding's inspired conducting, and the cast admirably carries out his intentions. If only EMI hadn't spread the opera out over three discs."

Another Demonstration of The Importance of BILLY BUDD

Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 05/10/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Benjamin Britten's operas continue to grow in popularity as audiences around the world appreciate the extraordinary craftsmanship of his music dramas. There are few opera houses who do not have productions of many of Britten's more popular works - PETER GRIMES, BILLY BUDD, MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM, TURN OF THE SCREW, ALBERT HERRING, DEATH IN VENICE - in the standard repertoire. This particular recording of a live performance of BILLY BUDD will add to the growing audience appreciation of just how great Britten's gifts were.



The recording may be live, but the acoustic is rich and sounds as if the performance were captured in a fine sound studio. Daniel Harding conducts the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus with a propelling dramatic force without forgetting the poetry inherent in EM Forster's and Eric Crozier's libretto based on Melville's story. For this listener the cast is brilliant. Nathan Gunn finds just the right balance between the 'innocent fool' and the idealistic, vulnerable hero. His voice is secure and eloquent in the Billy o' the Darbies sequence. Gidon Saks as Claggart, the lustfully confused but evil villain, is dark of voice and demeanor. The trio of officers who gather in Captain Vere's cabin (Neal Davies, Jonathan Lemalu, Matthew Rose) sing well both individually and together. Ian Bostridge as Captain Vere is such a solid musician that if his presence as the tortured Captain doesn't destroy the listener as much as his predecessors, the quality of his singing is so technically perfect that the character can be forgiven the usual power of personality. The male chorus and orchestra are simply splendid.



Even though the listener may have other recordings of this great work, this recording is so rich musically and dramatically that it should be placed along the other versions with equal quality. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 09"