The Fairy Queen is a
hybrid, a semi-opera and it was first seen at Glyndebourne in 2009 on the
occasion of Henry Purcell's 350th birthday. It proved to be a jolly
entertainment that does not dig deep into one's soul but it was good to see it
again, as before produced by Jonathan Dove, seemingly no expense spared. The
work is a species of masque, a form popular in the seventeenth century
involving actors as well as singers, dancers and musicians. Poetic drama also
features, in this case a rehash by Anon of A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Curiously, although many of the lines are spoken, Purcell set none of
them to music. Barring the first act, the other four each contains a section
with text and music devoted to, variously, Sleep, Seduction, the
New Day and Marriage. There are additional numbers involving Winter,
a Drunken Poet plus Adam and Eve.
Purcell's music is lively and non-subjective, with one or
two celebrated numbers such as Hark! the Echoing Air. The music before
the second act is a high spot and was finely toned and shaped by the Orchestra
of the Age of Enlightenment directed with style by Laurence Cummings. The large
cast performs with charm and versatility. There is always something to catch the
eye or woo the ear, a giant spider, a full-sized horse, a roi soleil,
funny mechanicals and a mass of furry telly tubbies.
Carolyn Sampson captivated with a nocturnal song,
Christopher Benjamin was a lovable Drunken Poet, David Soar a weather beaten Winter,
Pennie Downie a fearsome Titania and Finbar Lynch a yobbo Oberon. For once the weather was clement (July 25), sunny and kind, the Sussex audience enjoyed itself hugely and Henry Purcell was done proud.
An eminent musical academic once told me that when the architect, Inigo Jones, himself a renowned producer of masque, got married Purcell composed a saucy catch which began with the words: 'In I go, In I go Jones!! When I pointed out that Inigo Jones died in 1652 and that Purcell was not born until 1659 my academic friend countered "John, with dates you can prove anything".
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