baritone vocals [mr redburn] Hervey Alan
baritone vocals [billy budd] Theodor Uppman
baritone vocals [donald] Bryan Drake
baritone vocals [novice's friend] John Cameron
bass vocals [bosun] Ronald Lewis
bass vocals [claggart] Frederick Dalberg
bass vocals [dansker] Inia Te Wiata
bass vocals [first mate] Rhydderch Davies
bass vocals [mr ratcliffe] Michael Langdon
bass vocals [second mate] Hubert Littlewood
bass-baritone vocals [mr flint] Geraint Evans
chorus Chorus Of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
composed by, conductor Benjamin Britten
libretto by E. M. Forster
libretto by Eric Crozier
liner notes Philip Reed
mastered by Doug Pomeroy
orchestra Orchestra Of The Royal Opera House, Covent Garden
photography by [peter pears as captain vere] Roger Wood
photography by [theodor uppman as billy budd] Angus McBean
producer [cd] Allan Altman
tenor vocals [arthur jones] Alan Hobson
tenor vocals [captain vere] Peter Pears
tenor vocals [maintop] Emlyn Jones
tenor vocals [novice] Wiiliam McAlpine
tenor vocals [red whiskers] Anthony Marlowe
tenor vocals [squeak] David Tree
treble vocals [midshipmen] Brian Ettridge
treble vocals [midshipmen] Colin Waller
treble vocals [midshipmen] Kenneth Nash
treble vocals [midshipmen] Peter Spencer
voice actor [cabin boy] Peter Flynn
Phonographic Copyright (p) VAI Audio
Copyright (c) VAI Audio
World Premiere Performance, December 1, 1951
[Original 4-Act version]

℗ & © 1993 VAI Audio
Made in U.S.A.

CD 1: 60:22; CD 2: 47:00; CD3: 42:54
TT: 153:23

12-page booklet includes cast list, tracklist, details of omissions (see below) and notes on recording.

First issue of a non-commercial archive recording of a major Britten work on CD (p.5). This off-the-air recording is of variable technical quality (p.4). Tracks marked in tracklist by asterisks omit brief sections of music, as is noted on back cover insert. Booklet (p.4) contains both sung text of missing passages and musical references to the original edition of the vocal score (Hawkes & Son, 1951).

Quotations from Britten's letters © 1993 The Trustees of the Britten-Pears Foundation
Quotations from Peter Pears's letters © 1993 The Executors of Sir Peter Pears
Notes © 1993 Philip Reed

Front cover: Theodor Uppman as Billy Budd, photo by Angus McBean
Back cover: Peter Pears as Captain Vere, photo by Roger Wood,
courtesy of Roger Gross

Front cover: Printed in Canada inside small ellipse; legend Never before available! at lower right.
Barcode: 0 89948 10342 4
Matrix / Runout: VAIA 1034-1 L3812K A1 (CD1 [Final A1 stamped])
Matrix / Runout: VAIA 1034-2 L3813L (CD2)
Matrix / Runout: VAIA 1034-3 L3811L (CD3)
SPARS Code: ADD