Albert Herring

Britten wrote this opera following the success of his famous Peter Grimes opus, wanting to create a work in direct contrast and with a comical flavour. He chose well because the plot is an entertainment in itself and is a fitting playground for a variety of interesting characters. With an inventive, contemporary score written at the height of his powers it provides a demanding and yet commanding platform for opera students and staff to tackle while in itself being respected by academics and those who work in the industry.

Famous Australian director Bruce Beresford is an excellent choice for this production, not only because of his love of opera and Britten’s scores, but also his depth of knowledge, experience and ability to bring a production to life.

There was generally an impressive standard of presentation for an opera school, including guest artist Dominique Fegan (pictured above) from the Lisa Gasteen Opera School, with superb performances from Sebastian Maclaine as Albert Herring and Tegan Holland as Nancy. Felicity Abbott’s production design set the scenes well with a suitably costumed cast by Wendy Cork and an effective lighting design by Nigel Levings.

As per many contemporary operas written in the latter part of this century, this isn’t a work for those who like an instantly appealing melody, but it’s a work written by an academic who was given carte blanche and destined to create a unique style already floundering around experimental tonality. The success of this can be found in later works like Sondheim, but nevertheless it’s interesting to experience some of the earlier attempts at incorporating musical development and progress in a theatrical context.

Brian Adamson