Billy Budd by Britten, Ab (2022/2022), Unter der Regie von Annilese Miskimmon, Dirigat Hannu Lintu, Kalle Kuusava, Finnish National Opera, Helsinki, Finnland

Benjamin Britten’s sea-themed masterpiece makes its first appearance at the Finnish National Opera in spring 2022. The stirring production evokes the claustrophobic ambience of a World War II submarine. The production directed by Annalise Miskimmon for the Norwegian National Opera in 2019 has been immensely popular ever since its premiere. The breathtaking sets and costumes take the audience onto a submarine during the Vichy regime in 1940s France, where life is dictated by navy discipline and the inevitability of war. Billy Budd reveals not only suppressed passions and the burden of guilt, but also the power of beauty and liberation. The intensive story gets under the skin and reflects the very core of humanity.