Albert Herring at Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture

Chicago Opera Theater was the first Chicago opera company to perform the beloved works of Benjamin Britten in the city. COT presented the Chicago premiere of Albert Herring in 1979, staged by the late, great Frank Galati. To kick off its 50th anniversary year, COT looks back on the repertory that made it a staple in the community and returns to its original home- the Athenaeum theater.

Dame Jane Glover returns to COT to conduct Albert Herring. Glover made her COT debut with the Chicago premiere of Monteverdi’s Orfeo in 2001, directed by Diane Paulus. While she is now most well-known for her interpretations of Mozart and Handel, Britten has also been a staple of Glover’s repertoire, and she conducted Benjamin Britten’s Turn of the Screw at COT in 2003. Broadway director Stephen Sposito (resident director for Broadway and touring productions of Wicked, director national tour of Shrek the Musical) makes his COT debut directing a whimsical Albert Herring, marking his second ever foray into the genre of opera.

Composed by Benjamin Britten to a libretto by Eric Crozier, Albert Herring takes place in the fictional town of Loxford, England where none of the young ladies live up to the town’s matriarch’s inscrutable moral standards to be crowned May Queen. The grocer’s son, Albert Herring, however, fits the bill. After being thoroughly mocked by his friends for receiving the honor, Albert takes his first steps into independence by embarking on a night of debauchery.

Athenaeum Center for Thought and Culture, 2936 N. Southport Avenue, January 26, 2023 at 7:30pm, January 28 & 29, 2023 at 3pm. Tickets are $25 - $165 with discounts available for groups, subscribers, and students, and may be purchased at chicagooperatheater.org.