What Constitutes a “Good” Libretto: Critical Responses to the Text of Britten’s Billy Budd

  In reading critical responses to Billy Budd, it is difficult not to be intrigued by the variety of reactions to the libretto. Benjamin Britten’s choices for librettists were Eric Crozier and E. M. Forster. Forster had a reputation as a brilliant writer – but before his work on Billy Budd, he had never written for music. Crozier…

Sea Music from Debussy to Britten

  Sea Music from Debussy to Britten The opera Billy Budd received much criticism after its premier from numerous critics. These critics touched upon many aspects of the opera, such as the characters, the libretto, and the music. One critic from the ‘London Music Critic’ wrote a critique on Britten’s composition for the opera. He…

Elusive Depth of Character in Billy Budd

When Billy Budd premiered, it came up against much praise and criticism for its lack of clarity of meaning and characterization. Based on Herman Melville’s almost inexplicable novella, Billy Budd, Sailor, much of the ambiguous nature of the text is preserved, shown in the music, as well as the libretto. Some critics praise the work…

Setting the Scene, Conveying Vere’s Pain: Britten’s Approach to the Prologue of Billy Budd

One of the most interesting points of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd is the way in which it begins and ends. The bulk of the opera is a flashback of a former ship captain, Edward Vere. This flashback is bookended by a prologue and an epilogue, both of which depict Vere as an old man, reflecting…

Musical Character and Captain Vere

Benjamin Britten’s, Billy Budd, is about reminiscing on life in ones later years. In this case, Captain Vere, an old man, is examining the choices he made in his life. These choices seem to come at price of good versus evil. One particular choice he made is shown in ‘I accept their verdict.’ This aria…

Overtly Subtle Homosexual Themes in Britten’s Billy Budd

In regards to Britten’s opera, Billy Budd, it seems scholars and critics have come to an understanding that the work carries subtle (and not so subtle) ideas about homosexuality. With Britten and Foster both being homosexual, it is not hard to imagine that an opera written by them would have many underlying themes. I’d like…