The comic touch is a rarity in the operas of Benjamin Britten, but in “Albert Herring,” one of his earliest works, he displayed it with assurance, making sure along the way, however, that the humor also emphasized what became a lifelong artistic theme for the composer: the place of the outsider in society … the ears had plenty to feast upon, thanks to conductor Arthur Fagen, the thirteen excellent orchestral musicians (as called for by Britten), and the singers. A highlight came in the third act when the cast of characters mourns Albert’s feared death, each expressing personal thoughts, the lot shaping a wondrous musical tumult, grounded by the orchestral musicians. Conductor Fagen shaped Britten’s masterful and multi-voiced threnody into a fused lamentation thrilling to hear, making its interruption by Albert’s reappearance all the more dramatically charming as the lamenters then suddenly shift to heap anger on the poor lad.
Peter Jacobi, www.heraldtimesonline.com, February 13, 2012
Conductor Arthur Fagen skillfully brought together the music from the stage and from the pit, in a performance with plenty of rhythmic and dynamic vitality.
www.IndianaPublicMedia.com, February 13, 2012