Peabody Opera Theatre presents

Albert Herring

by Benjamin Britten

libretto by Eric Crozier

Peabody Symphony Orchestra

Harlan Parker, guest conductor

Roger Brunyate, stage director

Thursday-Saturday, November 21, 22, 23, 2002 at 7:30 PM
Sunday, November 24, 2002 at 3:00 PM (Erin R. Freeman, conductor)
Miriam A. Friedberg Concert Hall
Peabody Conservatory of Music
1 East Mt. Vernon Place
Baltimore, Maryland
Admission $22 / Seniors $11 / Students with ID $8
Box Office: 410/659-8100 x4415

This production is funded in part by a grant from the Maryland State Arts Council

Opera at Peabody home   Photos of the production

Contrasting Masks: Benjamin Britten produced Albert Herring only two years after the premiere of his first operatic success, Peter Grimes, in 1945. Director Roger Brunyate discusses the similarities and contrasts between the two operas.

Though a rollicking comedy of village life, set in Britten’s own beloved East Anglia, Albert Herring has a satirical edge which reflects the discomfort of anyone growing up at odds with the traditional expectations of his community. Albert is a shy young man of about twenty, working in his mother’s grocery. Lady Billows, the village patroness, summons a committee to select a May Queen. Unfortunately, no girl of unblemished reputation can be found, so Albert is selected by default as May King! At the banquet, Albert’s more worldly friends Sid and Nancy spike his lemonade with rum. Seeing himself as he is for the first time, Albert goes off on a night of adventures which scandalize Lady Billows and break his mother’s apron-strings for good.

The music is Britten at his most tuneful, in the Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra vein. The large cast is a gallery of comic character-sketches, drawn with understanding and wit, making it a kind of Masterpiece Theatre set to music! The production is a revival of the acclaimed Peabody staging of 1993, directed by Roger Brunyate, with costumes by John Lehmeyer and sets by James M. Fouchard.

CAST

* denotes Thu/Sat cast; ** denotes Fri/Sun cast

Lady BillowsJ. J. Hobbs**
Christine Kavanagh Miller*
Miss Wordsworth   Alyssa Bowlby**
Erin Cavanaugh*
FlorenceMaria Dolan Barnes*
Susan Sevier**
MayorJeremy Blossey*
Brendan Dorr**
VicarJames Richardson*
Daniel Seigel**
Supt. BuddTom McNichols**
Ryan Stadler*
Albert HerringWilliam Martin*
Farrar Strum**
Mrs. HerringCatrin Rowenna Davies*
Valerie Rogotzke**
Nancy WatersChi-Chun Chan*
Jessica Renfro**
SidMark Gardner*
David Krohn*
EmmieEmily Noel*
Nicole Vadala**
CisElizabeth Horton*
Taleesha Scott**
HarryDylan Parker*
Nicolas Sarbanes**