Curtis Opera Theatre Presents Albert Herring March 5–8

PHILADELPHIA—February 20, 2020—The Curtis Opera Theatre presents Benjamin Britten’s Albert Herring March 5 through 7 at 7:30 p.m. and March 8 at 2:30 p.m. at the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater. Leading the new production are director Eve Summer, who makes her Curtis debut, and conductor George Manahan.

One of Britten’s few comic operas, Albert Herring turns the morality play on its head through the tale of a shy shop clerk. The titular character, played by tenors Ethan Burck (March 5 and 7) and Joseph Tancredi (March 6 and 8), is selected as his town’s May King in honor of his virtuous ways. Accepting the position reluctantly, Albert becomes increasingly despondent as the depth of his inexperience with love and life become the center of attention. The quirky hero resolves to spend his prize money on adventure, stays out all night, and concocts a wild explanation of his exploits that shocks his elders and wins the admiration of his peers.

Conductor George Manahan, the director of orchestral activities at the Manhattan School of Music and a frequent collaborator with the Curtis Opera Theatre, returns to lead the cast and members of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra in this fully staged opera, sung in English with English supertitles. Stage director Eve Summer leads her first production for Curtis. Scenic design is provided by Julia Noulin-Mérat, with costume design by Whitney Locher and lighting design by Benjamin Pilat. The Curtis Opera Theatre season is sponsored by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation.

Single tickets for $20–75 are available through the Kimmel Center Box Office at (215) 893-1999 or KimmelCenter.org.

The Curtis Opera Theatre has become known for imaginative productions, bold concepts, and absorbing theatre. Under the artistic direction of Danielle Orlando and Eric Owens, promising young singers work alongside established professional directors and designers, resulting in fresh interpretations of standard repertoire and contemporary works. All of Curtis’s 26 students in vocal studies are cast regularly throughout each season, receiving a rare level of performance in fully staged productions, in recitals at Field Concert Hall, and as soloists with Curtis on Tour and the Curtis Symphony Orchestra. Curtis’s educational approach opens professional opportunities for Curtis graduates, who sing with top opera companies across the United States and Europe, including La Scala, Covent Garden, the Vienna Staatsoper, Houston Grand Opera, the San Francisco Opera, and the Metropolitan Opera.

CURTIS OPERA THEATRE: ALBERT HERRING

Thursday, March 5 at 7:30 p.m.
Friday, March 6 at 7:30 p.m.
Saturday, March 7 at 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, March 8 at 2:30 p.m.

Perelman Theater at the Kimmel Center for the Performing Arts
300 S. Broad Street, Philadelphia

George Manahan, conductor
Eve Summer, stage director
Julia Noulin-Mérat, scenic designer
Whitney Locher, costume designer
Benjamin Pilat, lighting designer

BRITTEN         Albert Herring

Cast (in singing order)

Fully staged production with members of the Curtis Symphony Orchestra, sung in English with English supertitles

Single tickets: $20–75, sold by the Kimmel Center Box Office, KimmelCenter.org, or (215) 893-1999.

The Curtis Opera Theatre season is sponsored by the Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation and the Wyncote Foundation.

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