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Home , Antonio Pappano, Audrey Mildmay, Christopher Oram, Deborah Warner, English National Opera, Glyndebourne

BAM celebrates Britten’s centenary with Festival ’s acclaimed , Feb 7—13

Tony Award-winning director directs a powerful production which transforms the stage into an 18th-century royal battleship

Bloomberg is the BAM 2014 Winter/Spring Season sponsor

Billy Budd is made possible by a generous gift from The Howard Gilman Foundation

Billy Budd US Premiere By Glyndebourne Festival Opera Philharmonic Orchestra The Glyndebourne Chorus Conducted by Sir Directed by Michael Grandage

Set design by Christopher Oram Costume design by Christopher Oram Lighting design by Movement direction by Tom Roden

Cast: Mark Padmore (Captain Vere), Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd), Brindley Sherratt (Claggart), Stephen Gadd (Mr. Redburn), David Soar (Mr. Flint)

BAM Howard Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette Ave) Feb 7, 9, 11 & 13 at 7:30pm Tickets start at $30

Talk: On Benjamin Britten with Fred Plotkin Feb 9 at 5pm BAM Fisher (Fishman Space, 321 Ashland Pl) Tickets: $15 ($7.50 for Friends of BAM)

“An unmissable musical and theatrical presentation”— (London)

Brooklyn, NY/December 20, 2013—BAM presents Benjamin Britten’s sweeping masterpiece, Billy Budd, in Michael Grandage’s acclaimed Glyndebourne Festival production, the culminating event of the city-wide celebration of the composer’s centennial.

Britten fashioned this seafaring saga from the Herman Melville novella with a libretto by E.M. Forster and in 1951. Set on a British battleship in the politically tumultuous 18th century, the story concerns the title character—a young sailor—whose conflict with a senior officer leads to their mutual demise. The opera contains some of Britten’s favorite themes: morally-ambiguous character, innocence crushed, and the sea.

Grandage’s production transforms the entire stage into lower-deck ship quarters with only a glimpse of the outside world—accentuating the claustrophobia, pent-up tensions, and suppressed desires. In this all-male opera, solo characters are sharply delineated and crowd scenes are imbued with camaraderie.

On this, his first opera production, Grandage said he felt a particular affinity to Britten because he, as the composer, came from a port town. He said, “I was brought up by the sea and Britten’s music has always moved me. I was particularly keen that the first opera that I directed should be in English.”

The production premiered in Glyndebourne in 2010. Its successful 2013 revival was hailed “a staging of outstanding perception and visual cohesion” by The Guardian. The BAM presentation features the entire cast from this revival, as well as the Glyndebourne Chorus and London Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Sir Mark Elder. This is the first time the famed festival will travel to the US with its resident orchestra and chorus. Glyndebourne General Director David Pickard said, “Glyndebourne has always taken great pride in the quality of the productions we create. Staging this emotive opera at BAM as part of the Britten centenary celebrations in the US is an honor for Glyndebourne."

BAM Executive Producer Joseph V. Melillo said, “BAM’s history with Glyndebourne Festival dates back to 2001 with The Makropulos Case. We are thrilled to bring this powerful production to New York audiences, and also proud to join Glyndebourne in this important tribute to the great Benjamin Britten.”

About the artists Michael Grandage is an award-winning British theater director and producer. He is the artistic director of the Michael Grandage Company, a London-based company set up to produce work in theater, film, and television. As artistic director of the from 2002 to 2012, he directed many award-winning productions including (Tony and Desk Awards for Best Director of a Play), The Chalk Garden (Evening Standard and Critics’ Circle Awards for Best Director), (Evening Standard Award for Best Director), Frost/Nixon, The Wild Duck (Critics’ Circle Award for Best Director), (Olivier Award for Outstanding Musical Production), and Caligula (Olivier Award for Best Director). He directed featuring at BAM in the spring of 2011.

Mark Elder has served as music director of The Hallé since 2000. He has also held the positions of music director at and principal guest conductor of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, BBC Symphony Orchestra, and the . He has worked with the world’s leading symphony orchestras and appears regularly at prominent international opera houses from House to the . His many recordings include Gramophone Award-winning releases with The Hallé. He also has several projects planned with Opera Rara, for whom he is artistic director. Sir Mark is an honorary member of the Royal Philharmonic Society and received a knighthood in 2008.

Mark Padmore (Captain Vere) was raised in Canterbury and studied at Cambridge University. In the opera house he has worked with prominent directors such as , , and . On the concert platform, he has appeared with the world’s leading orchestras, collaborates regularly with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and Les Arts Florissants, and is a noted specialist in Bach’s Passions. His many recordings include the award-winning Winterreise and Dichterliebe.

South African Jacques Imbrailo (Billy Budd) studied at the before joining the Jette Parker Young Artists Programme at the between 2006 and 2008. His opera roles include , Guglielmo (Così fan tutte), Pelléas, Figaro (), and Valentin (), among others. He has performed at the BBC Proms, , , Concertgebouw Amsterdam, and with the New York Philharmonic.

In demand on opera stages and concert platform, Brindley Sherratt (Claggart) has appeared at the BBC Proms, the Bregenz, , Lucerne, and Salzburg Festivals with conductors such as Ivor Bolton, Andrew Davis, Mark Elder, , Louis Langrée, Yannick Nézet- Séguin, and . His numerous opera roles include Sarastro (Die Zauberflöte), Balducci (Benvenuto Cellini), Rocco (), Fiesco (), and Philippe (Don Carlo), among others.

Stephen Gadd (Mr. Redburn) is the winner of the Award in 1990. As an in- demand baritone he has performed on some of the most prestigious stages such as the Opéra national de Paris, , Royal Opera House, and English National Opera. His roles include , Melot and Kurwenal (), Sharpless (), and Marcello (La bohème), among others.

Welsh bass David Soar (Mr. Flint) was the first recipient of the Family Parry Bursary of the in 2009. His opera roles include Leporello and Masetto (Don Giovanni), Basilio (The Barber of Seville), Figaro (Le nozze di Figaro), and Colline (La bohème). He made his Metropolitan Opera debut in 2012 in the Michael Grandage production of Don Giovanni.

London Philharmonic Orchestra, one of the finest orchestras on the international stage, was founded in 1932 by Sir . Since then, its principal conductors have included Sir , Sir , Klaus Tennstedt, and Kurt Masur. In 2007 Vladimir Jurowski became its principal conductor. The orchestra regularly tours abroad. Highlights of the 2013/14 season include visits to the US, Romania, Austria, Germany, Slovenia, Belgium, France, and Spain.

The Glyndebourne Festival was founded in 1934 by John Christie and his opera singer wife, . Glyndebourne has remained financially independent since then and, while receiving valued Arts Council support for the tour and education work, the Festival receives no public subsidy. The Glyndebourne Festival runs from May to August with a program of six in a 1,200-seat opera house. Together with the Glyndebourne Tour it presents 150 performances annually to an audience of 150,000.

For press information contact David Hsieh, 718.636.4129 x9 or [email protected].

The original Glyndebourne production was funded by The Monument Trust in honor of Simon Sainsbury.

Credits Bloomberg is the BAM 2014 Winter/Spring Season sponsor.

Programming in the BAM Howard Gilman Opera House is supported and endowed by The Howard Gilman Foundation.

Billy Budd is made possible by a generous gift from The Howard Gilman Foundation.

Leadership support for Billy Budd provided by Robert L. Turner, and Aashish & Dinyar Devitre.

Major support for Billy Budd provided by Mercedes T. Bass, Beth & Gary Allen Glynn, and Joseph A. Stern.

Leadership support for opera at BAM provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, and Stavros Niarchos Foundation.

Major support for opera at BAM provided by The Francena T. Harrison Foundation Trust.

Additional support for Billy Budd provided by Susan L. Baker & Michael R. Lynch.

BAM 2014 Winter/Spring Season supporters: Bank of America; Brooklyn Community Foundation; Con Edison; Aashish & Dinyar Devitre; The Irene Diamond Fund; Ford Foundation; The Howard Gilman Foundation; Frederick Iseman; Suzie & Bruce Kovner; Leon Levy Foundation; Toby Devan Lewis; McKinsey & Company, Inc.; The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; Mikhail Prokhorov Fund; Stavros Niarchos Foundation; The Barbro Osher Pro Suecia Foundation; A. & Robert S. Rubin; The Fan Fox & Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, Inc.; The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation; The SHS Foundation; The Shubert Foundation, Inc.; The Skirball Foundation; Robert L. Turner; Time Warner Inc.; Viacom; The Wall Street Journal; The Winston Foundation, Inc.

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Your tax dollars make BAM programs possible through funding from the City of New York Department of Cultural Affairs and the New York State Council on the Arts. The BAM facilities are owned by the City of New York and benefit from public funds provided through the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs; the New York City Council, including the Brooklyn Delegation of the Council; and the Office of the Brooklyn Borough President.

BAM would like to thank the Brooklyn Delegations of the New York State Assembly, Joseph R. Lentol, Delegation Leader; and New York Senate, Senator Velmanette Montgomery, Delegation Leader.

General Information BAM Howard Gilman Opera House, BAM Rose Cinemas, and BAMcafé are located in the Peter Jay Sharp building at 30 Lafayette Avenue (between St Felix Street and Ashland Place) in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn. BAM Harvey Theater is located two blocks from the main building at 651 Fulton Street (between Ashland and Rockwell Places). Both locations house Greenlight Bookstore at BAM kiosks. BAM Fisher, located at 321 Ashland Place, is the newest addition to the BAM campus and houses the Judith and Alan Fishman Space and Rita K. Hillman Studio. BAM Rose Cinemas is Brooklyn’s only movie house dedicated to first-run independent and foreign film and repertory programming. BAMcafé, operated by Great Performances, offers a bar menu and dinner entrées prior to BAM Howard Gilman Opera House evening performances. BAMcafé also features an eclectic mix of spoken word and live music for BAMcafé Live on Friday and Saturday nights with a drink and small plate menu available starting at 6pm.

Subway: 2, 3, 4, 5, Q, B to Atlantic Avenue – Barclays Center (2, 3, 4, 5 to Nevins St for Harvey Theater) D, N, R to Pacific Street; G to Fulton Street; C to Lafayette Avenue Train: Long Island Railroad to Atlantic Terminal – Barclays Center Bus: B25, B26, B41, B45, B52, B63, B67 all stop within three blocks of BAM Car: Commercial parking lots are located adjacent to BAM

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