By Angela Pometto
HERALD Staff Writer
(From the issue of 9/30/04)

Goodness, handsomeness and beauty are put on trial in Herman Melville’s "Billy Budd," performed by the Washington National Opera at the Kennedy Center. Set to the mysterious and unstructured music of Benjamin Britten, the tragic tale parallels Shakespeare’s "Othello" as it shows how true goodness can be ruined by just one evil man.

The story begins and ends with Captain Vere (Robin Leggate) as an old man reflecting on his life at sea. His strongest memory is the year of 1797, when young Billy Budd (Dwayne Croft) joined his crew. The youthful Billy is loved by everyone on the crew of the H.M.S. Indomitable. But as Vere said, nothing can be all good without some defect — which for Billy is a stammer.

The Master-at-Arms, Claggart (Samuel Ramey), sees Billy’s goodness and is determined to destroy him. Billy’s childlike innocence blinds him to Claggart’s evil intentions, even after he is warned by the older seaman, Dansker (Conal Coad). The sneaky and cleaver Claggart uses some of the lower class seaman to try and bring trouble to Billy. Squeak (Steven Cole) gets caught going through his things, but the Novice (John McVeigh) is successful in speaking to Billy about leading a mutiny on the ship. Billy refuses to help anyone go against "Starry Vere," as the crew calls the captain.

When Claggart finally brings his accusations to the captain, Vere instantly realizes that Claggart is lying about Billy’s character. Confident in Billy’s innocence, Vere allows Claggart to formally accuse Billy so that Billy may defend himself. When Billy is asked to speak on his own behalf, he begins to stammer under the pressure, and instead of speaking, he strikes out at Claggart and kills him.

The inadvertent death of the Master-at-Arms causes a sad chain of events as Billy is tried for the murder of a superior officer. Throughout the trial, however, Billy retains his goodness even when it is seemingly ignored by Vere.

The large all-male cast provides a phenomenal performance. The main characters are important, but the story would be incomplete without the many other voices that contribute to the Indomitable’s plight. Newcomers to the Washington National Opera stage, including Leggate, McVeigh, Coad, John Hancock (Mr. Redburn), Peter Volupe (Mr. Flint), Jon Kolbert (Red Whiskers) and Keith Phares (Donald), perform masterfully, both in singing and acting. Croft, Leggate and Ramey all shine in their solo moments.

Director Francesca Zambello commands the impressive show that includes many difficult stage directions. Conductor Richard Hickox leads the challenging music that defines the production.

Alison Chitty, set and costume designer, was also a key player in the overall outcome of the show. The simple seamen costumes differentiated between the upper and lower classes, but the real pièce de resistance is the set of the H.M.S. Indomitable. The large set is complete with mast, sails, upper and lower decks, and shipmate quarters and hammocks. The most amazing scene in the opera is the one battle scene where the Indomitable pursues an enemy French ship. The lower half of the set rises so the audience can see what is happening below the deck with the crew, while on the upper deck, seamen load cannons and prepare to fire.

Lighting Designer Alan Burrett adds to this scene with brilliant effects for cannon fire. Besides the cannons, the lighting determines moods throughout the show — whether it is the spotlighted soliloquies or a bright, hot afternoon on the deck of the ship.

"Billy Budd" runs through Oct. 3 at the Kennedy Center in Washington. For more information call 202/295-2420 or go to www.dc-opera.org.

<photo credit>Courtesy Photo by Karin Cooper

<photo caption>ATTACK — Despite the differences of personalities on the H.M.S. Indomitable, the entire crew unites when faced against their enemy, the French.