Billy Budd, or the Triumph of Beauty at the Opéra de Lyon

Sean Michael Plumb (Billy Budd)

Billy Budd at the Opéra de Lyon

By Stéphane Lelièvre, 22 March 2026

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

“rendering the workings of the characters’ psychology with striking clarity”

Reviewed at Opéra Nouvel, Lyon on 21 March 2026

Britten, Billy Budd

Opéra de Lyon

Finnegan Downie Dear, Conductor

Richard Brunel, Director

Stephan Zimmerli, Set Designer

Bruno de Lavenère, Costume Designer

Laurent Castaingt, Lighting Designer

Orchestre de l'Opéra de Lyon

Chœurs de l'Opéra de Lyon

Paul Appleby, Captain Vere

Sean Michael Plumb, Billy Budd

Derek Welton, John Claggart

Filipp Varik, Squeak

William Morgan, Novice

Michal Marhold, Donald

Scott Wilde, Dansker

Oliver Johnston, Red Whiskers

Daniel Mirosław, Lieutenant Ratcliffe

Rafał Pawnuk, Mr Flint

Alexander de Jong, Mr Redburn

Guillaume Andrieux, Novice's Friend

Benedict Kearns, Choirmaster / chorus director

All that glitters: Barrie Kosky's Coq d'or opens in Lyon

Mark Pullinger, 20th May

Its premiere postponed from Festival d'Aix last summer, Barrie Kosky's staging of Rimsky-Korsakov's political satire finally takes place in Lyon.

*****

Seeing double: Bluebeard’s Castle at Opéra de Lyon

Zoltán Szabó, 26th March

A controversial new production of Bluebeard's Castle by Andriy Zholdak in which Bartók's opera is played out twice...

**111

La Cenerentola in Edinburgh: comic direction to savour

David Karlin, 24th August

Herheim pulls us in unexpected directions, makes us laugh and makes us think as we enjoy fine Rossinian music and singing in Opéra de Lyon's production.

****1

Marton turns Don Giovanni into a wrist-slashing wimp

Jonathan Sutherland, 25th June

A disappointing new production by David Marton at Opéra de Lyon.

**111

Darkness and grandeur in Christophe Honoré's Don Carlos

Mark Pullinger, 17th March

A (nearly) complete performance of the original French version of Don Carlos forms the centrepiece of Daniele Rustioni's Verdi Festival in Lyon.

****1

Macbeth, Thane of Wall Street

Mark Pullinger, 16th March

In Lyon, Daniele Rustioni drives through a pulsating reading of Macbeth, Ivo van Hove's imaginative setting not always fully backed by the vocal performances.

***11

More reviews...

Stéphane Lelièvre

Stéphane Lelièvre est maître de conférences en littérature comparée. Il est responsable de l’équipe « Littérature et musique » du Centre de Recherche en Littérature Comparée à la Faculté des Lettres de Sorbonne Universités. Spécialiste des romantismes allemand et français, il s’intéresse d’une manière générale aux liens entre les lettres et la musique, et donc particulièrement à l’opéra.