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Last week I had the pleasure of attending an opera for the first time
in over a year, and I must say the experience was so enthralling that it
re-ignited my passion for the genre. I went to see a performance of the
Canadian Opera Company's production of British composer Benjamin Britten's
Billy Budd at the Hummingbird Centre. I've been an opera fan for a very long
time, but this performance marked a number of firsts for myself. It was the
first English opera I had ever seen, the first opera without a female role at
all I've seen, and the first opera composed in the 20th century I've seen (it
premiered in 1951). I had my reservations prior to attending because more
often than not 20th century composers have a nasty habit of venturing into
atonal musical territory dispensing with conventional melody, which can be a
challenge to listen to, to say the least. Fortunately, Britten happens to be
a melodist, and while his score often created an appropriate mood in
accordance with the plot, the music did seem somewhat bland in parts when
compared with older forms of the genre. Still, it's certainly a lot better
than I was expecting, musically speaking, especially the many grand men's
choruses.
As for the plot, it takes place on an English warship in the summer of 1797
during the Napoleonic wars. Billy Budd happens to be conscripted for duty
early in the proceedings, and he soon becomes the most popular crew member
due to his happy-go-lucky cheerful nature. This development incences the
Master-At-Arms, a sadistic, morbid individual who makes it his personal
mission to destroy Billy Budd. He does this by trying to frame Billy to take
the fall for a fake mutiny on the ship (easily feigned considering the low
morale of the crew). However, the captain of the ship (Vere) is not so easily
duped and suspects from the outset that something is amiss...he senses
Billy's natural goodness and does not trust the Master-At-Arms' intentions.
Once the Master-At-Arms accuses Billy of mutiny in front of Captain Vere,
Billy is so incensed by this falsity that he lashes out and accidentally
kills the Master-At-Arms. As the only witness, Captain Vere realizes the
crossroads that he is in immediately...does he obey man's natural instinct as
to what is right and wrong and assist Billy out of this terrible situation
thereby risking his own career, or does he follow the man made laws of the
books, knowing that the penalty for Billy's act is death? Well, Vere shuns
his own conscience and does nothing to help Billy at the subsequent trial, at
which Billy is found guilty and sentenced to hang.
The opera ends with a scene during which a much older Vere sorrowfully
reflects on the whole story, acknowledging that the guilt for what he did
will haunt him until his final breath. It's a powerful, gripping tale that
will no doubt cause you to philosophize endlessly over themes such as man vs
nature, order vs chaos, and right vs wrong, including the grey areas in
between. Combined with the COC's first rate production and excellent ensemble
of international singing talent, this is one opera that's not to be missed.
No cheesy love story here; Billy Budd is dark and emotional, a smouldering
pot of mankind's inner turmoil. Great for goths ;)
review by roland
April 25th, 2001
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