Central City Opera Goes Beyond The Stage To Explore BILLY BUDD

Billy Budd is having a renaissance. To celebrate the Colorado premiere of Benjamin Britten's opera Billy Budd and the 200th anniversary of the original novella author Herman Melville's birth, Central City Opera will offer a series of free events designed to explore Billy Budd's musical, literary and legal implications. Throughout the metro area in May and June, university scholars, lawyers from the Colorado Attorneys for the Arts, and Central City Opera's artistic and music directors will discuss the story's themes through moderated panels and audience Q&As. Free screenings of the 1962 film Billy Budd will also be shown at two Denver Public Library branches.

While an opera company might not be the first place you would think of when looking to discuss social justice, moral, and ethical themes in a timeless Melville novel, Central City Opera is excited to offer these opportunities as a way to get people excited and talking about what the story has to offer us as a society today. The story of a young sailor's forced enlistment during the Napoleonic War-era of the British Navy and the subsequent ethical dilemma that follows over a crime he commits in self-defense is more relevant than ever. In today's political climate the Billy Budd story affords an opportunity for discussing how legal decisions can affect people of all classes, races, and ethnic backgrounds. Is "social justice" a black and white issue or is there room for interpretation? Come discuss it with the experts!

Get inside knowledge on this swashbuckling tale before its debut on the Central City Opera Stage July 13, 2019.

For a full listing of events, visit centralcityopera.org/anchor-initiative.

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