The Fairy-Queen

The premiere of the opera based on William Shakespeare's "Midsummer Night's Dream" took place in London in 1692. "Fairy Queen" is a so-called semi-opera which means that Purcell has not put Shakespeare's comedy into music but has written musical numbers for singers and dancers in between the original text.

Presented with one interval.
Running Time:

3:15

Purcell's "Fairy Queen" seems to be a brilliant and enigmatic example of conceptual baroque performance. Originally performed as a part of colossal court show, it carries on its own beauty and secrets. Fantastic, naive and wise characters do not hurry to reveal their goals and means. Decorated by the Purcell's melodies' jewellery, they observe Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and make their own comments and conclusions.

We can only guess what all those stories, words and sounds meant 400 years ago. But the desire to stage this opera now immediately demands a whole set of keys for the endless doors of its labyrinths.

I went to the area of machinery and absurd mechanics to search for those keys. So here it is: a kinetic conceptual "Fairy Queen" driving through the forests and palaces of "No fear Shakespeare".