Billy Budd

800 liters of water, two sails, thirty pulleys, sixty hammocks: for the Bicentenary of the Teatro Real of Madrid, Deborah Warner created a colossal production of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd. A critically-acclaimed performance, praised for its depth and intelligence, this story revolves around a young sailor, Billy Budd, and John Claggart, the unscrupulous master-at-arms obsessed and crazed by Billy’s angelic beauty. Baritone Jacques Imbrailo, who knows the title role perfectly, 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, coproduced by the Opera of Rome and the Royal Opera House.