Albert Herring is a comic opera by Benjamin Britten. Written as a companion piece for his serious opera The Rape of Lucretia , the libretto, by Eric Crozier , is taken from Guy de Maupassant's story Le Rosier de Madame Husson . It was premiered on 20 June 1947 in Glyndebourne.
Albert Herring is in some ways reminiscent of the works of Gilbert and Sullivan and in some ways that of Richard Strauss. The text itself is genuinely funny, and there are a myriad of musical quotations within the score, as well as some complex forms within, despite the light subject matter. Like Peter Grimes and other works by Britten, this opera explores society's reaction to an odd individual, although, in this case at least, it is from a generally humorous and lighthearted perspective.
Last updated: 08-23-2005 02:47:19