trombones, tuba, timpani, percussion (six players xylophone, glockenspiel, triangle, block, tambourine, side drum, tenor drum, bass drum, whip, cymbals, small gong, 4 drums (played by drummers on stage), harp, strings. Synopsis Place: On board the battleship HMS Indomitable, a "seventy-four" Time: The French Revolutionary Wars in 1797 1951 original 4-act version Prologue Scene 1: Main deck and quarter-deck of HMS Indomitable Scene 2: Address Act 2 Scene 1: Captain Vere's cabin Scene 2: Berth-deck Act 3 Scene 1: Main deck and quarter-deck Scene 2: Captain Vere's cabin Act 4 Scene 1: Bay of the upper gun-deck Scene 2: Main deck and quarter-deck Epilogue 1960 version Prologue Captain Edward Fairfax Vere, an old man, reflects on his life and his time in the navy. He reflects on the conflict between good and evil, tormented by guilt over the case of Billy Budd on board his ship, HMS Indomitable, some years earlier. Act 1 The crew of the Indomitable works on deck. For slipping and bumping into an officer, the Novice is sentenced to be flogged. At the same time a cutter approaches, returning from a merchant ship where it has pressed three sailors into the Royal Navy. One of these sailors, Billy Budd, seems overjoyed with his situation – entirely different from the other two, Joseph Higgins and Arthur Jones, who are not so happy. Claggart, the Master-at-Arms, calls him "a find in a thousand", despite having a stammer. Billy says a jaunty farewell to the Rights o' Man, his former ship, innocent of what his words imply. The officers, forgetting mention of the name of his prior ship, take his words as a deliberate provocation and order the men below decks. Claggart tells Squeak, the ship's corporal, to keep an eye on Billy and give him a rough time. The Novice is brought back from his flogging, unable to walk and helped along by a friend. The cruelty of the punishment shocks Billy, but he feels certain that if he follows the rules he will be in no danger. Dansker, an old sailor, nicknames Billy "Baby Budd" for his naïveté. At this point in the four-act version, the climax of Act I features Captain Vere on deck to give a speech to the men. In the two-act version, after Billy has asked about the ship's captain, Dansker mentions Captain Vere's nickname, "Starry Vere," and this is enough for the impulsive