Benjamin Britten: Billy Budd

Contents

• 1. Synopsis;
• 2. Herman Melville's Billy Budd;
• 3. Britten's Billy Budd: Melville as opera libretto;
• 4. From first thoughts to first night: a Billy Budd chronology;
• 5. The 1960 revisions: a two-act Billy Budd;
• 6. Britten's 'prophetic song': tonal symbolism in Billy Budd;
• 7. A Billy Budd notebook (1979-91);
• 8. Stage history and critical reception; Appendices.