The OperaWednesday series on 12 May 2021 awaited fans of early music with highlights from The Fairy Queen, a semi-opera by Purcell. The performance was streamed from 8:00 p.m. on Facebook and Origo.hu.
The Westminster composer, Henry Purcell wrote the piece for the 15th wedding anniversary of England’s King William III and Queen Mary II in 1691. Full of musical and dramatic fantasy, The Fairy Queen is a semi-opera inspired by Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. The fashion of the time stipulated that Shakespeare’s plot be acted out in prose scenes, supplemented with musical, vocal and dance interludes featuring allegorical figures, supernatural beings and mortal humans as well.
Soloists of the concert performance: Rita Rácz, Attila Dobák, Eszter Zemlényi, Eszter Balogh, Ninh Duc Hoang Long, Tibor Szappanos and Péter Fried
Featuring the musicians of the Opera Orchestra: Erika Dallos (harpsichord / musical direction), Elina Harsányi (first violin), Áron Dóczi (second violin), Endre Balog (cello, continuo), Mihály Könyves-Tóth (trumpet)
Staged by Erika Tóth
Narrated by Dániel Mona
The performance can be viewed HERE.
Photo by Edina Ligeti