November
6,
2003
The
story of a young man who is crowned May King and breaks free from his
mother's
apron
strings takes center stage this week as the School
of Music and Dance performs Benjamin Britten's comic opera "Albert
Herring." Performances are at 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and
2 p.m. Sunday in the Studio Theatre of the Creative Arts building.
Based on a short
story by Guy de Maupassant, "Albert Herring" takes
place in 1900 in the fictional village of Loxford in Suffolk, England.
Town luminary Lady Billows is determined to find a virtuous May Queen
candidate, but when none of the town's girls is deemed worthy, she turns
to the backwards but upright Albert Herring, the only son of local grocer
Mrs. Herring. Herring enjoys being crowned May King, but comments about
his mother's control over him. This is compounded by his first taste
of alcohol (via lemonade spiked with rum) that leads him to shed his
inhibitions, break free from his mother, and cause a town scandal. The
results are hilarious but also cathartic.
SFSU's performance is directed by Alissa Deeter, assistant professor
of music, with music direction by pianist and composer Steven Damonte.
Eric Gjovaag conducts.
Benjamin Britten
(1913-1976) composed "Albert Herring" in
1947 as a comic companion piece to his 1946 tragedy "The Rape of
Lucretia." Britten ranks as one of England's most prolific and acclaimed
composers and as one of the dominant opera composers of the 20th century.
Admission to the opera is $10 for the general public and $5 for students
and seniors. For tickets, call (415) 338-2467.
-- William
Morris
|