THIS September 5 and 6 at Lammermuir Festival in East Lothian, award-winning director Daisy Evans (The Telephone 2020) is helming a specially created production of Benjamin Britten and Eric Crozier’s Albert Herring at Haddington’s Corn Exchange. It will then be performed alongside Scottish Opera’s production of Donizetti’s Don Pasquale at Theatre Royal Glasgow and Festival Theatre Edinburgh this October and November, bringing even more opera to Scottish audiences.
Highlighting the joy and value of community, Britten’s loose adaptation of a Guy de Maupassant short story has become one of the 20th century’s most beloved operatic comedies. This production is full of quirky yet loveable characters and 1990s nostalgia.
William Cole conducts The Orchestra of Scottish Opera, and a cast of singers familiar to Scottish audiences as well as up-and-coming talent. This includes former Scottish Opera Emerging Artist Glen Cunningham (A Midsummer Night’s Dream 2022) as Albert Herring, Susan Bullock (Candide 2022) as Lady Billows and Jamie MacDougall (Marx in London! 2024) as the Mayor, Mr. Upfold. Joining them are the Company’s 2024/25 Emerging Artists Kira Kaplan as Miss Wordsworth, Edward Jowle as PC Budd, Ross Cumming as Sid and Chloe Harris as Nancy, with Sarah Power as Emmie, Audrey Tsang as Cis and Cliona Cassidy as Harry.
Transforming the venues into the village hall of market town Loxford, designer Kat Heath brings a colourful eye to this heart-warming coming-of-age story that celebrates finding one’s own path in life despite – or perhaps because of – the misadventures along the way.
Daisy Evans said: “Albert Herring is a celebration of life and living. It celebrates the breaking of social and hierarchical barriers for the good and the joy of community.”
Lammermuir Festival’s Artistic Directors Hugh Macdonald and James Waters said:
“The Lammermuir Festival’s ongoing relationship with Scotland’s national opera company is something we are immensely proud of. This year, we are delighted that Scottish Opera is bringing Benjamin Britten’s charming and touching village comedy Albert Herring — our second Britten collaboration with them. It’s a marvellous way to open our 15th festival and we’re particularly pleased that it will be our first ever event in Haddington’s historic Corn Exchange, opened 170 years ago and recently refurbished.”
Those who wish to discover more about how Albert Herring was created can attend Pre-show Talks in Glasgow and Edinburgh, which delve into the detail of the opera. Tickets are free but should be booked in advance. Audience members with a visual impairment can enjoy the full opera experience at Audio-described performances, which have a live commentary describing the action on stage without compromising the music. At these performances, there are also free Touch Tours of the set, and a live audio introduction before the start of the performance.
Albert Herring is supported by The Scottish Opera Endowment Trust.
Tickets for Albert Herring are on sale now at www.scottishopera.org.uk/shows/albert-herring/
