The new production of Purcell’s The Fairy Queen launched in 1995 by the English National Opera (ENO) was received with great enthusiasm by both the public and musical press. This atmospheric production was prepared by David Pountney, Robert Israel created the stage set, Dunya Ramicova was responsible for costume design and Quinny Sacks was responsible for the choreography of the dance roles as well as the numerous breathtaking ballet scenes. Under the musical direction of Nicholas Kok, the English National Orchestra played a baroque music which was as crystal clear as it was expressively infectious. Next to outstanding performers of the dancing roles such as Puck (Simon Rice) and the Indian boy (Arthur Pita), an entire armada of excellent singers was summoned up such as one seldom experiences together on the baroque opera stage. These included Yvonne Kenny as Titania, Thomas Randle as Oberon and Richard Van Allan as King Theseus. Jonathan Best, with his comic portrayal of the drunken poet, was loved by the audience and praised highly by the press, while other singers like Michael Chance, Mary Hegarthy, Janis Kelly, Marc Le Brocq and Christopher Ross all contributed their talents to produce an unusual musical theatre experience.
The Begijnhof Academy: Baroque Music
The Dutch-based Begijnhof Academy is an ensemble of international musicians and singers who specialise in the performance of baroque music. In this recording, their musical director, Roderick Shaw, conducts performances of Henry Purcell’s My Heart is Inditing and Francisco Valls’ Missa Scala Aretina.
Dido and Aeneas
When asked to adapt Purcell’s melodious and moving work for this special studio presentation, composer Howard Goodall aimed to reach an audience normally resistant to opera. He chose Debby Bishop and Peter Straker – stars of musicals rather than opera – as the tragic lovers, used modern instruments, including saxophone, guitar and synthesiser, in his orchestration, and replaced recitative with spoken dialogue. A Dido as Purcell might have written it today? In a short introduction, Goodall and Purcell virtuoso Simon Preston discuss this question.
Dido & Aeneas
For the opening of the International Baroque Festival at Melk Abbey, the ancient world makes its way into the Abbey Church. With Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, the composer’s brilliant opera and at the same time one of the central works of music history, the festival takes on the love and suffering of a couple who are granted happiness together for only a brief moment. The lovers’ fate finally culminates in one of the most poignant moments ever composed. The Concentus Musicus Wien under its conductor Stefan Gottfried and a cast of outstanding singers make this semi-scenic performance an unforgettable experience. “A stellar hour!” (Niederösterreichische Nachrichten)