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Britten - Billy Budd
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Britten: Billy Budd
Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Toby Spence (Vere), Brindley Sherratt (Claggart), Thomas Oliemans (Redburn), David Soar (Flint), Torben Jürgens (Ratcliffe), Clive Bayley (Dansker), Duncan Rock (Donald), Francisco Vas (Squeak), Sam Furness (Novice); Ivor Bolton, Deborah Warner
The strength of the production is its universality…The acting works so well in close-up that it is possible to follow this performance almost like a film…[Imbrailo’s] warm, unforced singing... —
Awards:
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2018, Winner - Opéra
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Winner - DVD/Blu-ray
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Special offer. Britten: Billy Budd
RecommendedPhilip Langridge (Vere), Simon Keenlyside (Billy), John Tomlinson (Claggart), Alan Opie (Mr Redburn), Matthew Best (Mr Flint), Alan Ewing (Mr Ratcliffe), Francis Egerton (Red Whiskers), Clive Bayley (Dansker); London Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, Tiffin Boys' Choir, Richard Hickox
Britten's score is so often praised that we tend to neglect the distinction of Forster and Crozier's libretto, sung in this set with unerring conviction by its three principals. Keenlyside and... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 1st December 2008
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Building a Library, January 2013, First Choice
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Britten: Billy Budd
RecommendedJohn Mark Ainsley (Captain Vere), Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Phillip Ens (Claggart), Iain Paterson (Mr Redburn), Matthew Rose (Mr Flint), Darren Jeffery (Lieutenant Ratcliffe), Alasdair Elliott (Red Whiskers), John Moore (Donald), Jeremy White (Dansker), Ben Johnson (Novice), Colin Judson (Squeak)...
[Elder paces] the developing tragedy with airily lyrical detail and brooding, ominous power. John Mark Ainsley' s plangent, dark-toned tenor and intense diction show us a more neurotic Vere... —
Awards:
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Presto Recording of the Week, 23rd May 2011
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2012, DVD Finalist
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BBC Music Magazine, July 2011, DVD Choice
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Britten: Billy Budd
Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Toby Spence (Vere), Brindley Sherratt (Claggart), Thomas Oliemans (Redburn), David Soar (Flint), Torben Jürgens (Ratcliffe), Clive Bayley (Dansker), Duncan Rock (Donald); Ivor Bolton, Deborah Warner
Teatro Real Madrid, Ivor Bolton, Deborah Warner
The strength of the production is its universality…The acting works so well in close-up that it is possible to follow this performance almost like a film…[Imbrailo’s] warm, unforced singing... —
Awards:
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Diapason d’Or de l’Année, 2018, Winner - Opéra
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BBC Music Magazine Awards, 2019, Winner - DVD/Blu-ray
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Britten: Billy Budd
RecommendedNathan Gunn (Billy), Ian Bostridge (Captain Vere), Gidon Saks (Claggart), Neal Davies (Redburn), Jonathan Lemalu (Flint), Matthew Rose (Ratcliffe), Andrew Kennedy (Novice), Matthew Best (Dansker), Roderick Williams (Novice's Friend)
London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Daniel Harding
…this is a good, often exciting performance, but Hickox and especially Britten are hard acts to follow. —
Awards:
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Grammy Awards, 52nd Awards (2009), Best Opera Recording
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Britten: Billy Budd
Thomas Hampson (Billy Budd), Anthony Rolfe Johnson (Captain Vere), Eric Halfvarson (John Claggart), Russell Smythe (Mr Redburn), Gidon Saks (Mr Flint), Martyn Hill (Red Whiskers), Christopher Maltman (Donald), Richard Van Allan (Dansker), Andrew Burden (Novice), Christopher Gillett (Squeak), Matthew...
Hampson bring to the title-role an extra beauty alongside heroic power...Rolfe Johnson has some grit in his voice, creating a believable character at once rugged and introspective...[Halfvarson's]... —
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Britten: Billy Budd
Bo Skovhus (Billy Budd), Neil Shicoff (Captain Vere), Eric Halfvarson (John Claggart), Robert Bork (Mr Redburn), Wolfgang Bankl (Mr Flint), David Cale Johnson (Mr Ratcliffe), John Dickie (Red Whiskers), Geert Smits (Donald), Alfred Sramek (Dansker), John Nuzzo (Novice), Cosmin Ifrim (Squeak), Janusz...
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Special offer. Britten Conducts Britten: Opera 1
Peter Pears (Albert), Sylvia Fisher (Lady Billows), Sheila Rex (Mum), John Noble (Mr Gedge), Catherine Wilson (Nancy), Joseph Ward (Sid), Johanna Peters (Florence Pike), Edgar Evans (Mr Upfold), April Cantelo (Miss Wordsworth), Owen Brannigan (Budd), Sheila Amit (Emmie), Anne Pashley (Cis), Stephen...
An indispensable set, an obvious basis for any collection, large or small, offering the composer's definitive performances —
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Britten: Billy Budd
Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), John Mark Ainsley (Captain Vere), Phillip Ens (Claggart), Matthew Rose (Mr Flint), Ben Johnson (Novice), Colin Judson (Squeak), Iain Paterson (Mr Redburn), Darren Jeffery (Mr Ratcliffe)
London Philharmonic Orchestra & The Glyndebourne Chorus, Sir Mark Elder
The recording sounds intimate, reflecting the claustrophobic setting. Mark Elder and the LPO's bleakly atmospheric reading isn't diminished; but it does highlight the voices to good effect...one... —
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3 CDs
$32.25
