CANCELLED due to Coronavirus - Purcell full of fantasy: The Fairy-Queen

Paul McCreesh and his Gabrieli Consort & Players guarantee an afternoon of relaxed enjoyment with The Fairy-Queen by the imaginative Henry Purcell.

Shakespeare's magic
The Fairy-Queen by the British Baroque composer Henry Purcell is a semi-opera, in which not only music and singing, but also the spoken word is important. The basis for this composition is William Shakespeare's imaginative and magical play A Midsummer Night's Dream, on which the piece is loosely based. At the centre of the play is the pair of fairies Oberon and Titania, who use their magic to set all sorts of amorous entanglements in motion.

Imaginative characters and music
Henry Purcell introduced the opera genre to England with Dido and Aeneas, which was performed at the Matinee last season. But the English public evidently wanted something else: more accessible musical theatre for everyone, with sparkling songs and arias, choral scenes and instrumental dances. After the successful semi-operas Dioclesian and King Arthur, The Fairy-Queen followed in 1692 . Perhaps the best-known song from this composition is 'If love's a sweet passion why does it torment? (If love's a sweet passion why does it torment?). There are special allegorical characters in the opera, such as a Chinese couple, the Seasons, Night, Mystery and Sleep. Purcell provides the imaginative characters with delightful music!