Billy Budd at the Met – past report 5/4/2012

On Friday night I went to see Billy Budd at the Met. I'm a fan of Britten's score, so I had no higher plans than going to enjoy a night of good music. I'm happy to say that this production far exceeded expectations. John Daszak was an ideal Captain Vere. I couldn't imagine a more perfect tenor from the current ranks to fully capture that role. James Morris was vocally secure as Claggart, if a bit stilted in his stage presence. Nathan Gunn was likable in the title role, but sometimes overpowered by the orchestra.

The set was amazing. What started as the topdeck of HMS Indomitable was transformed by the Met's magic elevators into a multi-leveled three-decker man-o'-war. A section midstage rose up to show the captain's cabin, then continued its elevation to reveal the deep hold.

The first act threatened to become a show about a sword, as a weapon slipped from the wall of the captain's cabin and none of the singers reacted to its lying on the floor. I think the prompter saved the moment by gesturing to the cabin boy to pick the sword up and return it to the wall.

The second act was a show about a hat. When Billy knocked Claggart dead in the captain's cabin, Claggart's hat rolled to the forestage. It remained there during Billy's court martial (as a reminder of the deed just committed?), and during the captain's soliloquy (to torment him about having to sacrifice a good man for accidentally killing a bad 'un?). It would have been a great acting moment for Vere to pick up the hat and curse Claggart for the muck he brought about, but alas, no.

The hat stayed in the dimly lit downstage while Billy was imprisoned belowdecks (mocking torment?). And there was the hat when the topdeck was restored until a chorus member kicked it behind a cannon. I'm sure the stage manager was tearing his hair out and cursing that one of the six able seamen who removed Claggart's body had bloody well make sure his hat goes with him next time.

So even though this was a revival, there was very much a sense of opening night. A voice caught singing outside the cabin hadn't quite internalized that the door opened out, not in. He at least was saved by the courtesy of the first officer. All of the mishaps actually made the show more endearing as a human feat of live theater, and I am magnifying the hiccups of what was otherwise a masterfully executed performance.