A Close-Up of the Opera "Albert Herring"

This program will be held in-person at the Newberry.

Benjamin Britten’s comedic opera Albert Herring tells the story of an aristocratic lady who seeks a young, unmarried woman of unstained virtue to crown as her small town’s May Queen – only to discover that no maidens of the town meet her qualifications!

At this “Close-Up” event at the Newberry, Michael Pecak, Dame Jane Glover DBE, and Stephen Sposito from Chicago Opera Theater will discuss COT’s upcoming production of Albert Herring, the Newberry’s Stuart Fraser will draw connections with the library’s extensive opera-related collection, and COT singers will perform excerpts to illustrate points of the conversation.

A wine reception will begin at 5:30 pm. Also be sure to arrive early and register for the raffle where you can win two tickets to the opening night of Albert Herring! 

Chicago Opera Theater’s production of Albert Herring, conducted by Dame Jane Glover and directed by Stephen Sposito, will run January 26 through 29.

Speakers

Michael Pecak is a conductor, pianist, and historical keyboardist based in Chicago, where he is Assistant/Cover Conductor at Chicago Opera Theater.

Acclaimed British conductor Jane Glover, named Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the 2021 New Year’s Honours, has directed Music of the Baroque’s since 2002.

Stephen Sposito, nationally recognized theater director, is the director of Albert Herring at Chicago Opera Theater.

Stuart Fraser, Special Collections Library Assistant at the Newberry, studied twentieth-century literature and opera studies at Washington University in Saint Louis and the University of Chicago, and holds a Master’s of Library and Information Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Cost and Registration

Registration for this event is full.

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Questions?

Call us at (312) 255-3592 or send us an email.

Past Public Programs

Check out video recordings of past Newberry public programs on our YouTube channel.