Birmingham International Concert Season 2010/11
Thu 17 Feb 7:30pm at Town Hall
New London Consort
Philip Pickett conductor
Joanne Lunn soprano
Dana Marbach soprano
Faye Newton soprano
Christopher Robson countertenor
Tim Travers-Brown countertenor
Ed Lyon tenor
Joseph Cornwell tenor
Michael George bass
Simon Grant bass
Mauricio García Lozano director
Ace McCarron lighting designer
Please note Mauricio García Lozano replaces Neil Wallace.
Purcell The Fairy Queen 130’
There will be one interval and the concert will end at approximately 10pm.
A co-production de Doelen Rotterdam and The Sage Gateshead, in collaboration with Circus Space
London audiences in the 1690s revelled in the spectacle of The Fairy Queen – a maverick combination of Purcell’s glorious music, acting, costumes, and ‘machines and decorations’. This new production uses innovative stage direction and circus performers to recreate something of the colourful, fantastical spirit of the original.
BBC Music magazine’s Editor, Oliver Condy, explains why he has recommended tonight’s concert:
“Purcell’s opera contains his finest music. Based on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Fairy Queen is a dramatic and musical masterpiece that delights and moves in equal measure. This fun-filled, circus-inspired production features a superb line-up of artists.”
6.15pm Pre-concert conversation with the artists. www.thsh.co.uk
Review by Christopher Morley, Birmingham Post:
… “Philip Pickett’s New London Consort, cosily tucked up in a corner of the Town Hall Stage, delivered the score brightly and lovingly, and his soloists (complicated to identify from the otherwise informative programme) sang with immense style, technical brilliance and emotional communication.” …
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