SHOW NOTES: Ken Cazan, director, and John Baril, conductor - BILLY BUDD
Jul 12, 2019
SHOW NOTES for Season 4, Episode 3: Ken Cazan, director, and John Baril, conductor - BILLY BUDD
What a privilege to sit down with the director and conductor of our production of Billy Budd - Ken Cazan and John Baril! It is so hard for our scheduler to find time for these interviews, and finding time to interview the two people who need to be at every single rehearsal is near impossible. We were able to squeeze in an interview between the Artist Training Program classes and their next rehearsal for Billy Budd.
We talked a lot about the story of Billy Budd on this episode, including the differences between the novel and the opera, and to help you listeners become better acquainted with the opera, here is a link to the libretto (the text). If you'd like to read the novel Billy Budd, Sailor before coming to the show, you can buy it here.
There are many video clips on Youtube of different productions of Billy Budd, both the opera and the movie adaptation. Watch Norwegian National Opera's 2019 production of Billy Budd on Youtube here. In 1966, the BBC made a movie of the opera starring the original Captain Vere, Peter Pears. (Pears was Britten's longtime companion, and Ken mentions Pears in this episode.) Watch this movie-opera here. And finally, catch the climax of the story when, in Captain Vere's chambers, Claggart accuses Billy of inciting mutiny. This scene is from the 1962 movie adaptation of Billy Budd, Sailor.
Orchestra Manager (and violist) Brian Cook took a photo of the percussion set-up in the pit for Billy Budd. To say that it's crowded down there is an understatement....
Ken Cazan has been part of the Central City Opera family for almost two decades now. John Baril started as a production coordinator and assistant conductor back in 1992 and was promoted to Music Director in 2006. They have both been featured on the podcast before - click on the links below to listen to those past episodes from 2016, 2017, and 2018.
2016: John Baril, Music Director (TOSCA)
2016: Ken Cazan, Stage Director (THE BALLAD OF BABY DOE)
2017: Season 2, Ep. 8: John Baril, CCO Music Director and Conductor of COSI FAN TUTTE
2017: Season 2, Ep. 17: Ken Cazan, Stage Director of THE BURNING FIERY FURNACE
While Ken and John have been directing and conducting, respectively, for years and years at Central City Opera, they have only worked together on the same show a handful of times. Past CCO productions they've collaborated on include:
- Dead Man Walking (2014)
- 2011 Triple Bill: Les Mamelles de Tirésias, Gianni Schicchi, and Die Sieben Todsünden
- Three Decembers (2010)
- West Side Story (2008)
- Gloriana (2001 - John was Chorusmaster on this production)
Here are photos from some of these past productions. All photos are by Mark Kiryluk.
Dead Man Walking
Les Mamelles de Tirésias
Three Decembers
You can read more about Ken Cazan and John Baril on their websites (click on their names).
That's a wrap on the show notes for Season 4, Episode 3 of the Central City Opera Podcast. If you have any questions, email me at podcast@centralcityopera.org. Buy tickets to Billy Budd and our other productions on our website, centralcityopera.org. See you at the opera!
-Emily Murdock, Host & Producer