Albert Herring
Britten's opera Albert Herring is so infrequently staged, which makes it an interesting evening regardless of how it's done well or not. The cherry on top of the cake, though, is the no-holds-barred excellence of the performance during last weekend's Merola program staging.
The story, based on a short tale by Maupassant (translated here), goes like this: her ladyship Mrs. Billows, wanting to celebrate virginity and innocence, decides to select a May Queen. A committee composed of a vicar, a police chief, the town's mayor, and a schoolteacher each nominate a girl. But Mrs. Billows assistant, Florence, has vetted them all, negatively. Then they select Albert Herring, not a girl but quite the innocent. Oh, and the title of May King comes with a monetary prize. Having become inebriated at the celebration in his honor, Albert spends the night experimenting with the sins he held at bay for so long, and comes back in the morning thanking the committee for funding his party binge, and his awakening.
Pictures SF Opera/Kristen Locken. Above, Albert (James Benjamin Rodgers).
It's an ironic little storyline, and her ladyship and her committee end up the butt of the joke. Britten draws their caricatures with coarse lines: they are mono-dimensional, and the singers had a field day with the characters. The superintendent of police (Benjamin LeClair) was perfectly slow and simple, the mayor (Tyler Nelson) smooth and suave, Miss Wordsworth the school teacher (Ellen Wieser) slightly clueless. We were impressed in particular by Eugene Chan's unctuous Vicar. Kate Crist turned in a shrill Lady Billows, who sounded as deprived of warmth as she acted.
Britten and librettist Eric Crozier made some changes to the original short story: while the innocent young man is corrupted by the celebration in his honor with everlasting consequences, in this opera it becomes a coming of age parable. Albert Herring is not perverted, but able to stand on his own and to stand up to his mother. He is not lost, but freed. In this view, the most interesting characters are those Britten adds or fleshes out: Sid and Nancy, a young couple, and Albert's mother.
Sid and Nancy are the snakes who present Albert with his apple (which they literally keep eating from Albert's store in the fun and cute staging). They spike Albert's drink with rum, to the sound of a viola playing the theme from Tristan and Isolde. Love potion! The fact that Albert does commit carnal sins during his night of debauchery is never hinted at more explicitly than in this Wagner quote. Sid (Darren Perry) brings a bonhomie to the role, with a warm, rotund voice. Nancy (Renee Tatum) exudes sexiness vocally and physically.
And Albert (James Benjamin Rodgers) is rightfully crowned King of the day for his performance (the common trope is "first among equals" we believe for such an ensemble piece), both for his vocal as for his acting chops.
The Merola program will next present Don Giovanni on August 1st and 3rd. That's quite some opera to put together, but those young singers can pull off anything from what we've seen so far.