Composed by Benjamin Britten
Libretto by Eric Crozier, freely adapted from a short story of Guy de Maupassant
World premiere at Glyndebourne with the English Opera Group on 20 June, 1947
Albert Herring will be presented in English with English supertitles and has a run time of approximately 2 hours 47 minutes.
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- Christine Brewer as Lady Billows
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- David Walton* as Albert Herring
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- Holly Janz as Nancy
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- Nathaniel Buttram* as Sid
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- Debra Hillabrand
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- Lean Scheuring as Miss Wordsworth
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- David Dillard as Mr. Gedge
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- Anthony Heinemann as Mr. Upfold
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- Mark Freiman as Superintendent Budd
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- Janara Kellerman* as Mrs. Herring
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- Gina Malone as Emmie
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- Victoria Botero as Cis
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- Seth Drake* as Harry
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- Tim Ocel, director
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- Scott Schoonover, conductor
| DIRECTOR | Tim Ocel |
| CONDUCTOR | Scott Schoonover |
| SCENIC DESIGNER | Kyra Bishop |
| COSTUME DESIGNER | Teresa Doggett |
| LIGHTING DESIGNER | David Levitt |
| PROPERTIES MASTER | Laura Skroska |
| SUPERTITLE EDITOR/DESIGNER | Philip Touchette |
| STAGE MANAGER | Alexandra Leonard |
| SCENIC CHARGE ARTIST | Cameron Tesson |
| ASSISTANT DIRECTOR | Brooke Viegut |
| PRODUCTION MANAGER | Tony Anselmo |
* UAO debut
Synopsis:
In a small Suffolk market town Mr. Gedge the Vicar, Police Superintendent Budd, Mr. Upfold the Mayor and the local head teacher Miss Wordsworth meet at the home of Lady Billows to appoint at her behest a May Queen as an encouragement to local chastity. As they review the list of possibles, Lady Billows’s housekeeper Florence Pike, armed with reports of unworthy behavior, condemns each and every one. Eventually none is left, and instead a May King is proposed and Albert Herring — blameless son of a widowed shopkeeper — is chosen. The group informs Albert and his mother at their shop — though the shy young man tries unsuccessfully to refuse. At the ceremony in a marquee in the vicarage garden, butcher’s assistant Sid laces Albert’s lemonade, so that his contribution to the occasion consists largely of hiccups and silence. Later, back in the shop, Albert casts envious glances at the affectionate relationship between Sid and his girlfriend Nancy and, armed with his prize money, sets off in search of a little adventure of his own. By the following afternoon, concern is growing at his disappearance. The police are called in. Eventually the hasty villagers decide that he must have come to a bad end, and begin to mourn him. Up turns Albert, however, to face a telling off for going absent without leave and shocked reactions from his elders and betters when his carousing in public houses is revealed. Albert, of course, is unashamed, and celebrates his new-found independence by inviting three local kids into the greengrocers to share some peaches, tossing his May King’s orange blossom wreath into the audience as a final gesture.
Albert Herring is presented by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.
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