Billy Budd (opera)
The crew of the Indomitable are working on deck.  There is a new man working there (the Novice).  He slips and bumps into an officer.  The novice is cruelly flogged (beaten) for this.  At the same another crew member comes with three new young men who have been pressed (forced) into coming to work on the ship.  One of these three men is Billy Budd.