Britten is not renowned for his comedies (Wagner being the other one), so I was a wee bit skeptical about Glyndebourne's new production of Albert Herring - a comic story about a May King?
The production turned out to be great - the set and costume gave a realistic portrayal of an English household, the corner shop and the village fayre. Allan Clayton sang a believable Albert Herring (probably would make a good Billy Budd). Gwynne Geyer was a fabulously bossy Lady Billows. The LPO "chamber group" delivered an intimate and dynamic sound. Gérard Korsten brought the whole team together. It was, surprisingly, a fun evening out.
Michael Levine's set design for Dialogues des Carmélites was minimalist. Actually, was there any set design? I suppose the director Robert Carsen was clever at introducing formation of human figures in many different ways to suggest the context of the opera. It kind of worked. Blanche, sung by Sally Matthews, was pretty good. Though I did find the whole work quite tedious - I think the intimate nature of the dialogues needed a small and intimate performing space i.e. not the Royal Opera House. The ending was worth waiting for. Dramatic. Poignant.
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