Opera
Purcell, Henry
Purcell’s little opera, supposedly first performed at a girls’ school, has proved effective whenever it is staged, and has impressed by its concentration, directness, its swift and vivid presentation of the drama. Far from being a historical curiosity, it is still for many the greatest English opera…
The Fairy Queen is a very superior exemplar of how theatre of the Restoration period rehashed old plays as musicals. Purcell’s contributions to this work are so large-scale and impressive, as music and as theatre, that it is worth exploring the history to find out how and why Purcell made, from a rather poor adaptation of Shakespeare, an English ‘dramatic opera’, and against all expectations captured the spirit of Shakespeare...