Albert Herring Program

University of Houston Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts Moores School of Music presents The Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center’s production of

ALBERT HERRING

An opera in two acts

Music by Benjamin Britten Libretto by Eric Crozier Sung in the original English with text projected over the stage

April 10 and 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

Moores Opera House

Cast List

University of Houston Kathrine G. McGovern College of the Arts Moores School of Music presents

Saturday Monday

Albert Herring

Namarea Randolph-Yosea

Eric Laine

Meghana Krish

Audrey Welsh

Sarah Neal

Sarah Neal

James Siarris

James Siarris

Kristine Overman

Patty Holley

Sarah Dyer

Sarah Dyer

David Ferguson

Jordan Martinez

Aaron Oberlander

Aaron Oberlander

Mohammad Salman

Mohammad Salman

Christine Cummins

Michelle Girardot

Angie Tovar Julia Rose Arduino Chloe Owens

Sara Cox Annie Brown Bailey Bower

son of the greengrocer

Mrs. Herring

The Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center’s

Albert’s mother

Nancy

production of

a shop girl

ALBERT HERRING

An opera in two acts

Music by Benjamin Britten Libretto by Eric Crozier Sung in the original English with text projected over the stage

April 10 and 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

Moores Opera House Presented by arrangement with Boosey & Hawkes, Inc., publisher and copyright owner.

This production is partially funded by a generous grant from the Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts and members of the Moores Society Opera Production Council

Sid the butcher’s shophand

Lady Billows an aristocrat Florence Pike her assistant Mr. Upfold the Mayor Mr. Gedge the Vicar Superintendent Budd the chief of police Miss Wordsworth the school teacher Emmie Cis Harry her students

Orchestra Flute/Alto Flute/Piccolo Oboe Clarinet/Bass Clarinet Bassoon Horn Percussion Violin

Viola Cello Bass Harp Piano Whistler

Any taping, filming, recording, or broadcasting of this opera is strictly prohibited.

Please turn off all cell phones and other electronic devices as a courtesy to other patrons and to the performers.

Moores Opera Center

Ali Kaufman Matthew Harms Harold Gomez Montoya Daniel Westerfield Gabi Rodriguez Oscar Rodriguez Jonathan Andino Isabella Bengochea Rosa Cole-Avendaño Adriana Black Reid Ronsonette Stephanie Gustafson Katherine Ciscon Stacey Franklin

Production Staff

Synopsis

Stage Director and Production Manager

Nicole Kenley-Miller #

Setting: Loxford, East Anglia, 1944

Conductor and Music Director

Raymond Harvey *

Producer

Buck Ross *

Act One

Set and Lighting Designer

Thom Guthrie +

Costume Designer

Macy Lyne +

Projections

Nicole Kenley-Miller #

Technical Director

Jason Burton #

Musical Preparation

Katherine Ciscon +, Stephen Jones, Raymond Harvey *

Assistant Conductor

Myles Nardinger

Dialect Coach

Helen Mann +

Stage Manager

Antonio Sanz

Assistant Stage Managers

David Oluwo, Ariadne Lopez

Props Master

Jodi Bobrovsky +

Makeup Supervisor

Krista Pape +

Wardrobe

Carlos Cantu +, Julissa Davila +

IATSE Shop Steward

Genesis Bustos

IATSE Stagehands

Tyler Evans, J.D. Phillips, Damario Taylor

Sound

Afshin Farzadfar #

Assistant to Mr. Ross

Christine Cummins

Scene Shop Assistant

Jennifer Barker

* Moores School of Music faculty

#

Moores School of Music staff

Lady Billows shouts instructions to her assistant Florence Pike who is making preparations for the arrival of the May Day Festival Committee. The committee arrives and shares town gossip as they wait for Lady Billows.

She finally arrives and announces their agenda – to choose a Queen of the May. Lady Billows reminisces about bygone years of the May Day Festival, calling for a return to virtue.

The committee members make their nominations for Queen of the May, all of which Lady Billows and Florence promptly shoot down. They lament the sad state of their town, that not one girl is virtuous enough to serve as their honoree.

As a last-ditch effort, Budd suggests that perhaps they should consider a King of the May. The Mayor recommends Sid, and is immediately dismissed. Then Budd puts forward Albert Herring, the son of the local greengrocer, describing his virtue and qualifications. Lady Billows initially finds it preposterous but is finally persuaded upon seeing how dire the situation is. The committee sets off for the greengrocer shop to inform the Herrings of their decision.

At the Herring Green Grocer shop, the local children Emmie, Cis, and Harry are playing outside the store, when their ball goes through the shop door. Harry climbs over the door to get the ball and helps himself to some apples while there. Sid, the local butcher’s assistant, catches Harry in the act and throws him out of the store.

Albert Herring finally returns to the store with a load of turnips from the back room. Sid updates him on Harry’s attempted theft and then proceeds to educate Albert about the world – drink, dance, and girls. Nancy, a local girl who goes with Sid, interrupts their lesson, and Sid asks her to go on a date that night. Oblivious that their flirting is making Albert uncomfortable, Sid and Nancy go off together. +

Guest artist

Moores Opera Center Faculty and Staff Director, Moores Opera Center

Buck Ross

Music Director, Moores Opera Center

Raymond Harvey

Production Manager

Nicole Kenley-Miller

Assistant Conductors

Myles Nardinger, Alejandro Basulto

Musical Staff

Katherine Ciscon, Stephen Jones, Andreea Mut, Catherine Schaefer

Principal Scenic and Lighting Designer

Thom Guthrie

Technical Director

Jason Burton

Principal Costume Designer

Richard Walsh

Voice Faculty

Cynthia Clayton, Joseph Evans, Timothy Jones, Melanie Sonnenberg, Hector Vasquez, Zach Averyt, Dominique McCormick

ALBERT HERRING

As Albert laments the dullness of his life, Florence Pike arrives asking for Albert’s mum. She tells Mrs. Herring that Lady Billows and the May Day Festival committee are on their way to the store. The committee arrives and delivers the news that Albert is being declared Loxford’s King of the May. Lady Billows explains that there is a prize of twenty-five pounds, and Mrs. Herring becomes much more interested. The committee leaves, and Albert argues with his mum saying that he doesn’t want to be King of the May. She shuts him up in the back room, as the kids look on from outside the shop mocking the whole scene.

The day of the Festival has arrived, and Florence and Nancy are making last-minute preparations. Sid arrives reporting to Nancy about the morning’s festivities in the town, and confesses he has a secret scheme. Miss Wordsworth corrals her pupils to rehearse their song for the ceremony. Nancy helps Sid enact his prank, filling the glasses for the committee with lemonade and spiking Albert’s with rum.

The committee and Albert arrive for the ceremony, as Miss Wordsworth leads the children in their presentation.

Lady Billows makes a speech about the importance of virtue in crowning the “King” of the May and presents Albert with his prize. Other members of the committee follow with their presentations. All drink a toast to Albert, upon which he drains his spiked cup in one gulp and develops hiccups. Everyone rallies to rid Albert of his hiccups, which finally subside, and the feast commences.

Moores Opera Center

Synopsis

Director’s Notes

Act Two Albert has returned to the shop late after wandering the streets drunk from the lemonade. With his inhibitions lowered, his thoughts drift from frustration over how strict his Mum is, to remembering all the treats from the feast, and finally to dreaming of Nancy.

Albert hears Sid whistle outside Nancy’s window and eavesdrops as Sid convinces her to go to the pub with him.

Albert starts to follow after them, but remembers the prize money in his pocket, and flips a coin to decide his destiny. He goes off alone into the night to tempt fate with rebellion. Mum returns, and thinking Albert has gone to bed, she locks up the shop and turns in for the night.

The next morning, Albert has not returned home, and everyone is looking for him. Nancy is helping out in the shop to relieve the distraught Mrs. Herring, when Emmie announces the latest from the search, that Albert is presumed dead. Nancy regrets her part in getting Albert drunk. Sid returns from looking for Albert, and Nancy lets him have it for putting Albert in such danger.

Superintendent Budd comes to get a photo of Albert to help the search party. The Vicar and Miss Wordsworth arrive and attempt to comfort Mrs. Herring, who is certain her son is dead. Lady Billows arrives declaring that she will call out the guard to find Albert.

Sid, Budd, and the Mayor arrive with Albert’s wreath that was found crushed in the road. As they all finish a hymn of mourning for the boy, Albert walks into the shop. They interrogate him about where he has been. Nancy and Sid call out the committee’s prudishness.

Albert regales them with the tale of a night full of “drunkenness, dirt, and worse.” He then confronts his mother and the committee for repressing him for years. The committee and Mum storm out offering no forgiveness.

Albert gives a wink of reconciliation to Sid and Nancy. He opens the store and offers fruit to the kids, signaling a new day for Albert and the Herring Green Grocer.

Special Thanks Costume Connection of Houston Stages Repertory Theatre Helen Mann Stacey Franklin

Albert Herring has a special place among operas for me, because it was the first one I ever performed. As a freshman in college from small-town West Texas who had never even seen an opera, I was cast as Florence Pike and immediately bitten by the opera bug. So one might say that I owe my career to Albert Herring!

Based on a portion of Guy de Maupassant’s short story “Le Rosier de Madame Husson,” Albert Herring was Benjamin Britten’s first attempt at a comic opera. He finished it in 1947, and it premiered at Glyndebourne to lukewarm reviews, though it is now regarded as one of their more successful premieres. Like his earlier drama Peter Grimes, it is set in Suffolk, where Britten was born and lived out most of his life with his romantic and artistic partner, tenor Peter Pears. Those who knew Britten have commented on the satirical similarity of Albert’s character to the composer himself.

We have chosen to move our production of Albert Herring from its traditional turn-of-the-20th century setting to 1944, towards the end of World War II. Britten, an avowed pacifist, fled to the United States at the onset of the war, but returned to Suffolk in 1942 where he would compose Peter Grimes, which premiered in 1945. His next opera The Rape of Lucretia followed in 1946 as the first piece written for Britten’s new touring company, the English Opera Group, for which Albert Herring was also written.

Set in the fictional town of Loxford in East Anglia, the story centers around the community’s ritual crowning of a Queen of the May. A committee of town officials, appointed by the local aristocrat Lady Billows, is charged with selecting a virtuous girl for the honor. However, this year there are no girls in the town deemed pure enough for crowning, so the committee comes to an unorthodox decision.

Most of Britten’s operas posit the common theme of society ostracizing an individual who is different. This is the major theme in the more serious tones of Peter Grimes, Turn of the Screw, and Death in Venice; but with Albert Herring, Britten gives the theme a comical manifestation. Albert is the poster child for all those in our society who feel like misfits, who try to fulfill expectations but crack under the pressure, who struggle to be who we are even if that is unlike anyone else. This relatability is what has made Albert Herring one of the most performed English operas worldwide for the past 75 years.

As we come to the end of our season and mark the one-year anniversary of the quarantine, we thank you, our audiences, for your steadfast support this year. In the face of a global pandemic which has gutted the performing arts industry, we are grateful to have been able to present seven operas this year. From our four mainstage productions presented in-person either outdoors or in mask, to our innovative virtual operas which have garnered several film awards, to the premiere of a new bilingual chamber opera written by one of our students, Moores Opera Center is alive and well and looking forward to a season ahead when we hope to play to full audiences again.

Be sure to catch the Houston premiere of La finta semplice, Mozart’s first opera which he wrote at age 12, playing this weekend alongside Albert Herring here at Moores Opera Center!

Nicole Kenley-Miller Production Manager, Moores Opera Center

ALBERT HERRING

Moores Opera Center

2020LA –CENERENTOLA 2021 SEASON

About the Moores School of Music Moores Opera Center

Music by Gioacchino Rossini | Libretto by Jacopo Ferretti

The Edythe Bates Old Moores Opera Center, founded in 1986 at the University of Houston, gives young voices a chance to develop through practical training and performance opportunities. Every year, the program produces four major operatic productions in the Moores Opera House, UH’s distinctive performance hall designed to blend the acoustics of a traditional European opera house with the modern equipment and technology of today.

January 30 and 31, 2021 at 2 p.m.

Moores School of Music

DON GIOVANNI LA FINTA SEMPLICE

The University of Houston’s Moores School of Music (MSM) is one of the leading comprehensive music schools in the nation. Its remarkable faculty — of internationally recognized performers, composers, and scholars — outstanding student body, modern facilities, and broad range of programs make MSM the natural choice for nearly 600 students annually. The school’s commitment to academic excellence and the highest performance standards has ensured its role as a vital resource in the educational and cultural life of Houston and beyond.

Music by W.A. Mozart | Libretto by Lorenzo Da Ponte

Nov 6 and 7, 2020 at 7:30 p.m.by W.A. Mozart | Libretto by Carlo Goldoni, adapted by Marco Coltellini Music

Moores Society The Moores Society is the philanthropic volunteer organization for the Moores School of Music. Moores Society members and donors promote community awareness and provide funding for scholarships and special projects.

Moores Society members receive invitations to concerts and special events held throughout the year.

April 9, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

April 11, 2021 at 2 p.m.

Please visit uh.edu/kgmca/music/moores-society.

LA CENERENTOLA ALBERT HERRING

For more information, please contact Shannon Langman, Patron Relations Coordinator, at msociety@uh.edu or 713.743.8036.

Music by Gioacchino Rossini | Libretto by Jacopo Ferretti

Join the Moores Society

Join the Moores Society

January 30 and 31, 2021 at 2 p.m.

Music by Benjamin | Libretto

by Eric Crozier OperaBritten Center students with: …Your gift provides Moores

…and support the rising stars of opera!

like…

alumna Jessica Jones (BM ’09, MM ’11), who won a Grammy for her performance on the cast recording of The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs.

• Stage experience in four full-scale, professional-level productions per year • Opportunities to perform regional and world premieres of newApril operas 10 and 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

• Ability to train and work alongside leading professionals in their field • Opportunities to prepare and perform roles to build their resumes • Hands-on knowledge of how the theatre works from painting sets to curtain calls

LA FINTA SEMPLICE YOUR GIFT MATTERS!

Music by W.A. Mozart | Libretto by Carlo Goldoni, adapted by Marco Coltellini

or…

Other ways to give…

a lumna Katherine DeYoung (MM ’18), who has signed on with one of the largest classical music management firms and has joined Lyric Opera of Chicago’s Ryan Center Ensemble this season.

9, 2021• atOnline April 7:30 p.m.donations can be made at http://igfn.us/vf/MOC or by texting MOC to 71777 April atFor 2 p.m.

11, 2021• large and estate gifts, contact Shannon Langman, Patron Relations Coordinator, at msociety@uh.edu or 713.743.8036

ALBERT HERRING Music by Benjamin Britten | Libretto by Eric Crozier

April 10 and 12, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

ALBERT HERRING

Moores Opera Center

Special Thanks To MOORES OPERA CENTER 2020-2021 SUPPORTERS

The Moores Society is the philanthropic volunteer organization for the Moores School of Music.

Moores Society members and donors promote community awareness and provide funding for scholarships and special projects. Moores Society members receive invitations to concerts and special events held throughout the year.

IMPRESARIO ($25,000+)

2020-2021 MOORES SOCIETY

Cullen Trust for the Performing Arts Edythe Bates Old Endowment

Board of Trustees Executive Committee Jackie and Malcolm Mazow, Presidents Jo Dee Wright, Immediate Past President Helen Shaffer, Vice President, Membership Rita Aron, Assistant Secretary, Corresponding Carla Burns, Secretary, Recording Debbie Feuer, Audience Development Chair Robin Angly, Opera Production Council Chair

DIRECTOR ($5,000+) Robin Angly and Miles Smith Drs. Cheryl and Carl Carlucci Jo Dee and Cliff Wright

LEADING ROLE ($1,000+)

Christopher Velle Bacon Scott Chase (BA ’68, JD ’71) Endowment Fund Ann Faget Ellen and Alan Holzberg Rhonda Sweeney

COMPRIMARIO ($500+) Gwyneth Campbell Richard Drapeau Helen Mann Shannon Langman (MM ’09) Buck Ross

SUPERNUMERARY ($250+) Tim Doyle Warren Ellsworth Malcolm and Jackie Mazow

CHORUS ($100+)

Mr. and Mrs. John Goode Dr. Nicole Kenley-Miller (DMA ’18) & Dr. Andy Miller

IN TEMPORE OPERA LEGACY GIFTS

Buck Ross Opera Center Production Funds Endowment Juan R. Morales Endowment to Support Opera at the Moores School of Music Kathleen Childress Guthrie Harrison Endowment Thomas H. Guthrie Endowment to Support the Moores Opera House

Ann Ayre Margaret Boulware Terry Ann Brown Darlene Clark Beth Del Pico Mariglyn Glenn Stephen Glenn

Marita Glodt Sean Gorman Gary Hollingsworth and Ken Hyde Ellen and Alan Holzberg Linda Katz Marc S. Levine Shirley E. Rose

Christopher Bacon Tom Becker Anne Boss Nancy Bowden Cheryl Byington Zarine Boyce Julie Cogan Vicky Dominguez Cathy Coers Frank Joyce Frassanito Diane and Harry Gendel Donna Scott and Mitch Glassman Beatrice and Gregory Graham

Advisory Board Donna and Gene Hammons Gladys Hooker Mady Kades Janis Landry Shannon Langman Cora Sue and Harry Mach Cathy McNamara Celia Morgan Jo and Joseph Nogee Kitten and Ron Page Kusum Patel Carroll R. Ray Carol Lee Robertson

Robin Angly – Chair Chris Bacon Gwyneth Campbell Tim Doyle Warren Ellsworth

Opera Production Council Ann Faget Ellen and Alan Holzberg Helen Mann Jackie and Malcolm Mazow Terrylin Neale

Moores Opera Center

Kathi Rovere Richard J. Schmitt Donna Shen Rhonda Sweeney Betty Tutor Bob Wilkins Mary Ann Wilkins Lillie Robertson Minette Robinson Satoko and Anthony Shou Susan Thompson Ann and Karl Tornyos Virginia and Gage Van Horn Carol and Carl Vartian Nancy Willerson Beth Wolff Cyvia Wolff Gay Yellen

Rhonda Sweeney Beth Wolff Jo Dee Wright

MOORES SCHOOL OF MUSIC SOCIETY As of 3/24/2021

Director Level ($1,000) Rita Aron Ann Ayre Thomas S. Becker and Jim Rosenfield Elizabeth Del Pico Margaret Boulware and Hartley Hampton Terry Ann Brown Carla Adele Burns Darlene Clark Julie Dokell Cogan Victoria Dominguez Ann L. Faget

Debbie L. Feuer Mariglyn Stephen W. Glenn Marita Glodt Sean Gorman Dr. Gary L. Hollingsworth and Ken Hyde Ellen and Alan Holzberg Gladys Hooker Linda Katz Stephen Y. Leatherwood Barbara and Ulyesse J. LeGrange Sharon and Robert Lietzow Tod Lindholm and Rex Adams Jackie and Malcolm Mazow

Helen B. Davis Dr. Timothy Doyle Douglas Koch and Marcia Murphey

Mary Ann and David McKeithan Dr. Gary W. Patterson Minnette Robinson Nancy R. Schissler

Lillie T. Robertson Shirley E. Rose Jane and Richard J. Schmitt Helen Shaffer Donna Shen Nancy and Michael Shoup Rhonda and Donald Sweeney Ann and Karl Tornyos Betty Tutor Mary Ann and Bob Wilkins Jo Dee and Cliff Wright Edith and Robert L. Zinn

Partner Level ($500) Donna S. Scott Anthony Shou Virginia and Gage Van Horn Cyvia Wolff

Patron Level ($250) Christopher Bacon Nancy Bowden Katherine and Trey Brady Pam and Steve Bertone Barbara and Ronald Cuenod Drucilla and Richard Davis Joyce Frassanito Rachel Frazier Diane Gendel Dr. Gregory D. Graham Thomas Grimmett Eugene Hammons Sandra Harris Timothy Hester and Jasmine Hatem

Nancy and Carter Hixon Sophia James Mady and Kenneth Kades Janis Landry Marc S. Levine Cathy and Bill McNamara Dr. Celia A. Morgan Jo and Joseph Nogee Kitten and Ron Page Kusum Patel Carol Lee Robertson Kathi and Bill Rovere Honorable Frank Rynd Betty and Robert L. Schwarz Doris and William Sing

Julie Anderson-Smith and Ron Smith Christine Stevens and Richard Crishock Susan Thompson Jon Totz Carol and Carl Vartian David Ashley White Nancy B. Willerson Beth Wolff Gay Yellen and Don Reiser

Friend Level ($120) Ginger and David Blomstrom Judy and Harry Bristol Cheryl Byington Gwyneth Campbell Debra Witter and Scott Chase Cynthia Clayton and Hector Vasquez Vicie Lee Coleman Courtney Crappell Kathryn J. Crowder Matthew Dirst Dr. Kenneth L. Euler

John R. Gealy Walter Hecht Ann T. Hendrix Barbara and Raymond Kalmans Dr. Nicole Kenley-Miller and Dr. Andy Miller Richard Kummins Connie Lewis Crista and Gary Miller Teska Moreau Susan Snider Osterberg Anni Pati

Kate and Gregory Robertson Nancy Strohmer Jon Totz Shelton M. Vaughan Eleanor and Richard Viebig Dr. Betsy and Mr. Rick Weber Sharon and Tim Whipple Tobin Wright VIP Pediatrics Anonymous

ALBERT HERRING