big william's world

Is back for his second opera in two days. Mozart's Marriage of Figaro
tonight. A healthy contrast with yesterday's Britten.
The 18th century Man-War has been replaced with a stage full of
flowers on tonight's stage and the sun, setting behind the stage had
more warm orange.
Billy Budd, last night, was the best opera I ever saw here and
possibly anywhere. The discordant flavors I have so long avoided in
Britten haunted me like newly-discovered foods I wished I had tasted
before. The all-male cast sang powerful choruses sometimes with just
sounds instead of words. This only emphasized the serious, tragic,
story - far from typical of an opera.
Simply a fantastic performance all round.