Diapason d'Or of the year 2018 for Billy Budd DVD

The DVD / Blu-ray of Deborah Warner's "Billy Budd" (filmed at Teatro Real) receives the Diapason d'Or of the year 2018 as best Opera Recording.

“The Billy Budd of the next decade” (BACHTRACK), “Sensational” (OPERA), “Brilliant” (OPERA NEWS), “Une référence” (FORUMOPERA.COM), “Magistral” (DIAPASON), “Fulgurant” (OPERA MAGAZINE), “Eccezionale” (IL CORRIERE MUSICALE), “Memorable”(EL PAIS).

After receiving strong critical acclaim for its depth and intelligence, Deborah Warner's praised and International-Opera-Award-Winning production of Benjamin Britten's "Billy Budd" (filmed at the Teatro Real - Madrid) continues to impress on DVD & Blu-ray.

In this ambiguous and symbolic tale, drawn from Herman Melville’s last masterpiece, the composer Benjamin Britten, who returns for the occasion to symphonic opera and its infinite possibilities, unsettles and disturbs us by revealing the complexity and universality of human experience. Far from writing the characters as allegories of Good and Evil, the opera shows us instead the remorseless logic followed by the surge of one’s darkest desires. But in this opera dominated by masculinity, Deborah Warner goes beyond the story of violence, jealousy and hatred and chooses to focus instead on the collateral beauty produced by comradeship, friendship and forgiveness…

On November 20th, in the presence of stage director Deborah Warner and Teatro Real - Madrid Artistic Director Joan Matabosch, the DVD / Blu-ray of "Billy Budd" was awarded the "Diapason d'Or of the year 2018" as best Opera Recording.

Original title Billy Budd
Recording location Teatro Real - Madrid
Genre Opera
Recording date 2017
Duration 173 min.
Video format Color, 16/9, NTSC (DVD), Full HD (Blu-ray)
Audio format PCM 2.0, Dolby Digital 5.1 (DVD), DTS HD Master Audio 5.1 (Blu-ray)
Director Jérémie Cuvillier
Composer Benjamin Britten
Orchestra / Band Orchestra and Chorus of the Teatro Real - Madrid
Conductor Ivor Bolton
Stage Director Deborah Warner
Costumes Michael Levine
Soloist Jacques Imbrailo
Soloist Toby Spence
Soloist Brindley Sherratt
Soloist Thomas Oliemans
Soloist David Soar
Soloist Torben Jürgens
Soloist Christopher Gillet
Soloist Duncan Rock
Distribution DVD Naxos Distribution