FROM AROUND THE WORLD: SEATTLE.(Review)

Seeing the original Covent Garden production of Billy Budd (in 1951-52), who would have guessed that, half a century later, this opera would qualify as a near-repertory work now in many international houses? One luxury of Billy Budd's current status is the stimulus afforded by multiple productions and singers in the leading roles. Such was the case with Seattle Opera's first presentation of the opera. The company offered Francesca Zambello's much-traveled production from 1995, with Alison Chitty's costumes and clean-lined, near-abstract set. Zambello's frequent collaborator, Christian Rath, restaged the production here.

To mark Budd's fiftieth anniversary, Seattle's artistic director, Speight Jenkins, united three Billys onstage: Theodor Uppman, the role's unforgettable creator, still unsurpassed; Richard Stilwell, the Met's first Billy in 1978 and a convincing Mr. Redburn in this cast; and Christopher Maltman, the young English baritone ...