Musical Style and Character Themes
Albert Herring is a musically complex work, despite its somewhat light-hearted subject matter. The text itself is genuinely funny, and there are myriad musical quotations within the score, as well as some complex forms within, despite the light subject matter. Like Peter Grimes and other works by Britten, this opera explores society's reaction to an odd individual, although, in this case at least, it is from a generally humorous and lighthearted perspective. Some of Britten's contemporaries saw in the title character a satirical self-portrait of the composer.
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