The Barbican's concert performances of Billy Budd form the opening of Homeward Bound, a two-season showcase for tenor Ian Bostridge's talents. They allow him to add Captain Vere to his growing, if controversial, list of Britten portraits. Some might question whether the role suits him. As always, Bostridge's intelligence is admirable. He is entirely credible when conveying the intellectualism of a man who ruminates over Plutarch in the middle of a war and subjects his own actions to analytical scrutiny. Yet neither his voice nor his presence are commanding enough to delineate the rule-bound man of action, and his characterisation is as yet incomplete.

Despite qualms about Bostridge, this was in many respects a great interpretation. The opera suits Daniel Harding's lean, sometimes dispassionate conducting style. There's a cold, political fury in his approach that reminds us that Billy Budd is as much about the failures of war, revolution and the law as it is about the moral complexities of individual responsibility. The playing was exemplary, with the London Symphony Orchestra forcefully suggesting the metaphysical dimensions of the omnipresent sea, and the men of the London Symphony Chorus sang as if their lives depended on it.

The great vocal performances came from Nathan Gunn as Billy, and, above all, Gidon Saks as Claggart. Gunn is desperately touching in his naive exuberance, while his stammer is truly alarming, like the sound of an animal in pain. Saks, disturbingly, almost balefully handsome, was like some Miltonic fallen angel bent on destroying the positivity of creation. A great, utterly convincing characterisation, this was arguably the finest performance of the role for some years.