Orchestral interludes were phenomenal, especially the one after the trial scene, bringing the deep sorrow of Parsifal to mind. Only in Bayreuth have I heard such solid, hitting-your-chest, overwhelming choral sound, and the 3,200-seat War Memorial has nothing of the 1,925-seat wood-paneled Festspielhaus’ acoustics, so this was a special physical-musical thrill.Īdding to the collective triumph of the evening, the SFO Orchestra, under Lawrence Renes’ baton, played Britten’s immense score as if possessed. Christian Van Horn as John Claggart and William Burden as Captain Vere in ‘Billy Budd.’ 7 at the opening of Michael Grandage’s 2010 Glyndebourne production of Britten’s Billy Budd – and nothing escaped them as they shook the rafters.

“This is our moment,” sang Ian Robertson’s magnificent San Francisco Opera Chorus on Sept.

So sing the men of the HMS Indomitable (or Bellipotent in Melville’s novella) as they get ready for battle against a French ship, which escapes in the mist. SAN FRANCISCO – “This is our moment, The moment we’ve been waiting for…” A scene from the San Francisco Opera production of Britten’s ‘Billy Budd.’

The homecoming sf opera