Coming-of-age comedy kicks off new season of opera at Northwestern’s Bienen School of Music
- ‘Albert Herring’ offers lighthearted look at finding independence and freedom
- Christine Goerke coaches voice and opera students
- Tickets for both events available now
EVANSTON, Ill. --- A comic tale of youthful liberation and a master class led by Grammy Award-winning soprano Christine Goerke open the 2024-25 season of voice and opera performances at the Henry and Leigh Bienen School of Music.
Benjamin Britten’s “Albert Herring” tells the story of a young man finding his independence amid the societal pressures and rigid expectations of a small English village in the early 1900s. Director Joachim Schamberger describes the set design as “Britten meets Pink Floyd,” loosely inspired by the band’s album “The Wall.” A large brick wall onstage displays projections of the various institutions constraining the young village grocer Albert Herring — his family, the school, the church, the state and the aristocracy. During his self-discovery, the wall recedes from the stage.
In the Tichio-Finnie Vocal Master Class Series, renowned professionals coach Bienen voice and opera students in a performance setting. The first class in this season’s series is taught by Christine Goerke, who has received critical acclaim for her performances in operas by Mozart, Handel, Wagner and Strauss.
Tickets for both events are available online at concertsatbienen.org, by phone at 847-467-4000 or by visiting the Bienen School Ticket Office at 50 Arts Circle Drive, Evanston.
Program details follow:
Christine Goerke Vocal Master Class
Part of the Tichio-Finnie Vocal Master Class Series
Monday, October 14, 7:30 p.m.
Galvin Recital Hall, 70 Arts Circle Drive
Making appearances at the world’s major opera houses, including the Metropolitan Opera, Houston Grand Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Deutsche Oper Berlin, Christine Goerke has sung much of the classic soprano repertoire. Her recording of Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “A Sea Symphony” with Robert Spano and the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra won a 2003 Grammy Award for Best Classical Recording and Best Choral Performance. She is the recipient of a 2001 Richard Tucker Award, the 2015 Musical America Vocalist of the Year Award and the 2017 Opera News Award. During the 2024-25 season she performs with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Washington National Opera, Los Angeles Philharmonic and New World Symphony. In this master class, she coaches accomplished Bienen School voice and opera program students.
Thursday-Saturday, November 21-23, 7:30 p.m.
Sunday, November 24, 3 p.m.
Ryan Opera Theater, 70 Arts Circle Drive
Joachim Schamberger, director
Jason Gluck and Giang Vo, conductors
Members of the Northwestern University Symphony Orchestra
In the village of Loxford, the shy young grocery clerk Albert Herring lives life under his mother’s thumb, and is the object of pity and ridicule. When none of the local girls are deemed virtuous enough to be crowned May Queen in the village’s spring festivities, Albert is chosen as May King instead, much to his dismay. After imbibing a rum-laced lemonade at the May Day festival, Albert goes missing — and hilarious pandemonium ensues. Benjamin Britten’s score supports the colorful characters in this witty and satirical comedy celebrating the discovery of independence and breaking free of social expectations.
The opera is performed in English.
Artist Bios
Soprano Christine Goerke has received praise for her portrayals in the title roles of “Elektra,” “Turandot” and “Ariadne auf Naxos,” among many other notable soprano roles. She has appeared at major opera houses including the Metropolitan Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, the Royal Opera House Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Deutsche Oper Berlin and La Scala. In concert, Goerke has been featured as soloist with the New York Philharmonic, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, Sydney Symphony and the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Her discography includes Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “A Sea Symphony,” Johannes Brahms’s “Liebeslieder Waltzes,” Antonín Dvořák’s “Stabat Mater” and Benjamin Britten’s “War Requiem.”
Director Joachim Schamberger’s productions have appeared in the U.S., Germany, Italy, France, the Czech Republic, Brazil, Norway, Israel, Japan and China. An avid opera educator, he is on the faculty at many young artist festivals and guest lectures at conservatories throughout the world. Prior to becoming director of opera and artist-in-residence at the Bienen School, he served as visiting professor of opera at DePauw University. Schamberger is a graduate of the Musikhochschule in Würzburg, the Hochschule für Musik und Darstellende Kunst Mannheim and the Merola Opera Program of the San Francisco Opera. He studied digital film production and 3D animation at the New York Film Academy.
