Is this all you can bring," Lady Billows bellows in the first scene of Benjamin Britten's Albert Herring. "Each single name reeking impurities, exuding moral blame?"
She's annoyed to discover that there isn't a worthy May Queen among the young ladies in her quaint 1900 English village, a situation that leads to the unlikely crowning of a May King - and propels one of Britten's most engaging operas.
You can spend a few hours this weekend with Lady Billows, the epitome of puritanical busy-bodying, and her townsfolk in a charming production by Peabody Opera Theatre. Just don't expect to decipher every word of Eric Crozier's witty libretto.
The cast on Thursday night, which appears again tonight, failed to articulate an awful lot of words, leaving many a potential laugh unfulfilled. (An alternate cast performs tomorrow.) Virtually all of the housekeeper's damning commentary on each female candidate for the crown was lost, for example, rendering the opening scene ineffectual.
I don't remember encountering so little clarity during opera performances in Peabody's Friedberg Hall before, but some of the blame probably can be laid on the acoustics. Even so, Peabody voice faculty may want to offer some hasty remedial sessions on singing clearly in English, an invaluable - and attainable - talent.
Otherwise, the student cast jumped into the spirit of the piece with great verve and theatrical ease, guided by Roger Brunyate's inventive direction. He had the action unfolding fluidly within James M. Fouchard's picturesque set (John Lehmeyer's stylish costumes completed the visual atmosphere).
Among Brunyate's clever ideas is the banquet scene when Lady Billows rises to honor shy Albert; her babbling discourse on decency and patriotism flows here as the direct result of some cute stage business involving cue cards. The director comes up with several other neat visual touches and, throughout, gets the mood just right as the plot takes its affectionate potshots at short-sighted folks.
The cast's tight ensemble work was undermined by some rather unfinished vocalism. This was not the almost-fully professional level encountered at some Peabody productions in recent seasons. Many of the voices sounded a few notches below full operatic power and technical security.
In the title role of the mama's boy who gets to sow his first wild oats, William A. Martin did not always fill out the music, but enough of his words emerged distinctly to complement his colorful phrasing and engaging acting. Christine Kavanagh Miller's bright, high-wattage voice was a good match for Lady Billows. Mark D. Gardner (Sid) and Chi-Chun Chan (Nancy) did pleasant work.
Conductor Harlan Parker had the small orchestra effectively articulating Britten's brilliant instrumental writing, which is, by itself, a lesson in musical comedy. The little riff on Wagner's Tristan that bubbles out of the pit as Albert drinks spiked lemonade is but one delectable example.
Albert Herring
Where: Peabody Institute, 1 E. Mt. Vernon Square
When: 7:30 tonight, 3 p.m. tomorrow
Admission: $22, $11 for seniors, $8 for students
Call: 410-659-8100, Ext. 2