"Scorn the sweetmeats of temptation!", warns Lady Billows, as the village of Loxford gathers to crown its May King – a King, because so many village maidens have failed to resist those sinful sweetmeats that a Queen simply cannot be crowned this year. But Albert Herring, who lives with his mother, works in her shop and has never been known to transgress in the slightest degree, is universally pronounced a shining example of chastity – to his horror. Director Liam Steel keeps Britten's rural comedy in its early 1950s setting, and the moral milieu feels so perfect for this plot that one wonders whether it could ever work as well in any other; Britten's librettist Eric Crozier translated the prurient parochialism of early 19th century France, the setting for Guy de Maupassant's original novella, with unflinching wit.
Designs by Anna Fleischle show us a classic English country village straight out of a Miss Marple in two key locations, the church hall and the (scrumptiously cute) village shop; and, like any good Miss Marple, Loxford is positively seething with gossip, prejudice, and hypocrisy under its complacent surface. Against Fleischle's superbly nostalgic interiors, complete with period posters, faded FIRE EXIT signs, folding chairs, flowers and bunting, Steel introduces a silent Outsider, played by actor Michael Taylor Moran, who stalks the streets of Loxford with cool nonchalance, smoking thoughtfully in dark corners and upsetting the smug cabal of Lady Billows' Committee by his mere existence. Albert is at first frightened, then fascinated by him; and when he finally makes his bid for social, moral and sexual freedom, we are left in no doubt that it is this Outsider he has gone to find (though whether for sheer friendship, or for an erotic encounter, is left tastefully opaque).
The Royal College of Music Opera Orchestra, conducted by Michael Rosewell, make a gorgeous sound: warm and full of different textures. As well as the jokes in the opera’s plot and libretto, and the laughs keep on coming, there are also jokes in Britten’s score: the Tristan chord as Sid adds alcohol to Albert’s drink came through with melodramatic fervour, rousing a familiar chuckle across the audience. Singing throughout the company is lyrical, articulate and beautifully clear: there is not a weak link in this cast. Very occasionally the orchestra overwhelms the vocal line, but this is swiftly corrected.
Nick Pritchard is a joy as Albert Herring. At first shy and subdued behind his shop counter, Albert gets defensive when Sid challenges him about the lack of fun in his life; some early restraint in Pritchard's performance here soon pays off in spades. Pritchard is the picture of embarrassment in Albert's coronation scene, almost crying with shame and anger in a white dress; we feel this experience becomes a crisis of Albert's life, just as much a catalyst of his final rebellion as the rum with which Sid spikes his lemonade. His final, vibrant defiance of Lady Billows, the village in general and his Mum in particular makes you want to punch your seat with joy. Nicholas Morton's handsome Sid breathes bravado and charisma, immediately taking control of his scenes, and sharing sizzling stage chemistry with Angela Simkin as an appealing Nancy. The friendship, as well as the attraction, between these two young lovers highlights the joy of true love, as opposed to the dull bitterness of conforming to propriety.