P E TE R H AB E R K O R N
Billy Budd, 2013
Gallery installation: 7 nylon sails (main sails and jibs), manila rope
Approximately 36 x 40 x 36 feet
My intention with this installation is to distill the essence of the English
sailing ship H.M.S. Indomitable and to vividly illustrate the termination of
the life of the sailor Billy Budd.
A Brief Synopsis of Benjamin Britten’s Billy Budd:
Set on HMS Indomitable in 1797 during the French wars, the drama
involves the relationship between Captain Edward Fairfax Vere and the
seaman Billy Budd, a sailor who has been taken to serve in the navy. Billy
Budd, a character of radiant innocence, is in conflict with Claggart, the evil
master-at-arms, who resolves to destroy him. Struck by Billy Budd,
Claggart is killed and Captain Vere, who is aware of Billy Budd's innate
goodness and innocence, is compelled by duty to sentence him to death by
hanging.
The opera, set on a warship, has only men in the cast. It deals, as so often
in Britten's operas, with the destruction of innocence—both that of the
Novice, forced through fear to betray Billy Budd, and that of Billy Budd
himself, while Captain Vere is presented with what might be seen as the
traditional conflict between duty and love, current in earlier operatic
tradition.