Albert Herring - Glyndebourne Festival Opera Details

Albert is fun, once you adjust.

Benjamin Britten is credited with being deeply, personally involved with the libretto of this comic opera, (based on a story by Maupassant, and set in an Engish village in about 1930, I would imagine) because it reflected his own relationship with his mother.

The hero, Albert, is bullied and repressed by a possessive mother. In the absence of any virtuous girls in the village to be Queen of the May, he is elected King. But he rebels when his friends spike his drink with rum at the crowning ceremony and he goes on a spree. His hat is found, crushed, in the road. He is believed dead and mourned. But on his return he has matured into a man, and takes his rightful place.

I watched this film with a friend who is unfamiliar with Opera and new to Britten. At first, he found it very difficult to follow, but from about half-way through, he had adjusted and could understand every word and enjoy the music, which is a mixture of simple melody and threnody, interwoven strands, moving around each other. The trick is to relax and simply absorb it.

The singers were brilliant, wonderful actors and delightfully well cast.

[Highly rated reviewer]

More Than Opera Buffa

To compare Britten's comic opera with Rossini does not do justice to the contribution of the careful orchestral colouring on the one hand and the rich ensemble work on the other. The latter was often more akin to Wagner's Die Meistersinger, with its elaborate counterpoint, while the chamber orchestral sound was often reminiscent of Stravinsky. Sharp characterization and ironic that the title role is a taciturn character! Presented studio style with singing directly to the camera gave a rather dry clinical feel but splendid nevertheless.