Scottish Opera – Britten’s Albert Herring

The Corn Exchange, Haddington

Thursday 5 September 7.30pm

Duration: 2 hour 45 mins approx.


Albert Herring
Lady Billows
Florence Pike
Miss Wordsworth
Mr Gedge, the vicar
Mr Upfold, the mayor
Superintendent Budd
Sid
Nancy
Mrs Herring


Conductor
Director
Designer
Lighting Designer

Free ticket for any school student attending with a full price ticket holder 18+

Half price ticket for students aged 16+ in full time education

Scottish Opera - Britten's Albert Herring at Lammermuir Festival

Britten’s delightful comedy is set in a small Suffolk market town whose local worthies have failed to find a girl virtuous enough to be May Queen. Instead they decide to have a May King and choose a bashful, browbeaten shopkeeper’s son who’s ‘never been kissed’. Sweet, innocent young Albert tries to refuse the responsibility but, finding himself elected and awarded a cash prize, he decides to assert his independence and go in search of adventure, with disastrous results. Though full of sparkling musical wit, Albert Herring has a serious side in its exploration of lost innocence, with Albert becoming one of Britten’s most touchingly vulnerable and sympathetic characters.

Sung in English with English supertitles

Seating Plan

See ticket prices for The Corn Exchange, Haddington below.

The Corn Exchange, Haddington

It is no surprise that East Lothian, which was in the vanguard of the Scottish agricultural revolution through the 18th and 19th centuries anda centre for the production and sale of grain, should boast an important building designed for agricultural commerce. But by the mid-19th century, Haddington’s market facilities in Court Street had become completely inadequate for the many corn merchants who wished to ply their trade there.

Local builder and self-taught architect Francis Farquharson, who designed the County Buildings, was commissioned to design the Corn Exchange on an adjacent site. The new construction, with its neo-classical façade echoing that of the Town House close by, opened in 1854. The Venetian window in the centre of the façade is surmounted by a pediment with a carving of a wheat sheaf.

The Corn Exchange’s fortunes declined, however, following the British agricultural depression that resulted from cheap imports of American grain from the 1870s. In the 20th century it was used for community events and in the two World Wars for temporary billeting of soldiers. Management of the Corn Exchange was transferred to Haddington Community Development Trust in 2014 and a programme of refurbishment begun in 2019. Brunton Theatre Trust currently manages the Corn Exchange and programme a wide selection of events including concerts, theatre and film screenings.

The Corn Exchange, Haddington

Address

The Corn Exchange, Haddington
EH41 3DS

Getting there by bus

The following buses passing through Haddington:
EAST COAST BUSES: X6, X7, 106
PRENTICE: 108, 109, 101, 111, 122
EVE COACHES: 121
Please check bus timetables before booking your tickets.

Getting there by train

The nearest train station is at Drem.

Getting there by car

Haddington is off the A1.

Accessibility

Parking:

There is some free on-street parking and a free car park to the rear of the building. There are no official disabled parking bays outside the venue which is set back from the road.

Terrain:

There is level access to the building and accessible toilets.

Wheelchair Access:

Level access at the front of the building.

Visit East Lothian

Visit East Lothian

Visit Scotland East Lothian