Peter Pears and Joan Cross in the 1947 English Opera Group production at Glyndebourne |
Though Albert Herring is routinely performed in larger opera houses, the work was in fact Britten's second chamber opera. Written, like its predecessor The Rape of Lucretia, for the fledgling English Opera Group the work was intended to be a small scale piece with an instrumental ensemble accompaniment (single strings and woodwind, trumpet, harp and percussion, conducted from the piano). The piece can be something of a challenge for young performers as many of the characters are middle aged, but it will certainly be interesting to see what Ruthven, Austen and their cast do.
There is always one fascinating wrinkle in a new staging of the work, what Albert was actually doing during his night out and more particularly the gender of his sexual partner. You'll have to go along to Highgate to find out.
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