THE FAIRY QUEEN
Henry Purcell
January 13th 2024 · 7pm
Sala Principal
THE FAIRY QUEEN
Henry PurcellSemi-opera with a prologue and five acts
Anonymous libretto based upon William Shakespeare’s
A Midsummer Night’s Dream
Semi-staged version
Or a summer night of crazy love
The Fairy Queen is a
masque, the hybrid genre typical of the British Isles, in which
music alternates with declamation and dance. This masque in a
prologue and five acts is based on A Midsummer Night's
Dream by William Shakespeare, a work for which it probably
served as stage music in 1692. The nocturnal coolness of an English
forest populated by fairies, elves, goblins and sprites, is invaded
by humans lost in its fragrant and deceptive thickness. One
character will have his head replaced by that of an ass, and the
queen of the fairies herself will lose her mind by love for the
braying brute while there is singing and crying for love under
foliage, moss and leaves.
Creative Team
Conductor
William Christie
Stage Director and choreographer
Mourad Merzouki
Cast
Paulina Francisco
Georgia Burashko
Rebecca Leggett
Juliette Mey
Ilja Aksionov
Rodrigo Carreto
Hugo Herman-Wilson
Benjamin Schilperoort
Le jardin des Voix 2023
Les Arts Florissants
