The Fairy Queen
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Purcell’s intoxicating combination of words and music alternates elements of the plot of A Midsummer Night’s Dream with a variety of musical interludes. A magical brew has been concocted by director Jonathan Kent in inventive collaboration with designer Paul Brown.
The glass-fronted cases of a 17th-century cabinet of curiosities disgorge the black-winged inhabitants of a fairy world who make it their business to daze and confuse the poor humans who have accidentally strayed into their kingdom. The mixture is quintessentially English – one moment pastoral and elegiac, the next pure end-of-the-pier slapstick.
Baroque specialist Laurence Cummings will lead the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment from the harpsichord in this revival of a production that enchanted audiences on its first outing in 2009. The Daily Telegraph called it ‘an absolute riot, but executed with taste and style’ while The Observer said that ‘it is hard to imagine a more brilliantly creative approach to the work’.
When it was first produced at the Dorset Gardens Theatre in London in 1692, The Fairy Queen featured stage effects that nearly bankrupted the theatre. There were elaborate costumes, swans gliding over lakes, grottoes, woods and 12-foot high fountains. At Glyndebourne there will be dazzling singing and dancing, flamboyant cross-dressing, a flying horse and a warren full of rampant rabbits!
A revival of the 2009 Festival production
Sung in English with English supertitles
Co-Production with Théâtre National de l’Opéra-Comique
Supported by The Fairy Queen Syndicate
New edition for The Purcell Society by Bruce Wood and Andrew Pinnock. Performed by arrangement with Stainer & Bell.
Dates & Times - The Fairy Queen
Glyndebourne
| Performance Date | Coach Departs | Performance Starts | Interval | Performance Finishes | Ticket Price Ranges | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 20 July 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £20.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
| Wednesday 25 July 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £165.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
| Saturday 28 July 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £215.00 - £230.00 | Book Now |
| Wednesday 1 August 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £165.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
| Sunday 5 August 2012 | 2:00pm | 3:25pm | 5:20 - 6:40pm | 8:15pm | £175.00 - £230.00 | Book Now |
| Thursday 9 August 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £165.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
| Sunday 12 August 2012 | 2:00pm | 3:25pm | 5:20 - 6:40pm | 8:15pm | £165.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
| Wednesday 15 August 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £145.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
| Saturday 18 August 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £145.00 | Book Now |
| Friday 24 August 2012 | 3:00pm | 4:40pm | 6:35 - 7:55pm | 9:30pm | £145.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
| Sunday 26 August 2012 | 2:00pm | 3:25pm | 5:20 - 6:40pm | 8:15pm | £195.00 - £205.00 | Book Now |
Glyndebourne Cinema Screenings
| Performance Date | Performance Starts | Interval | Performance Finishes | Ticket Price Ranges | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday 22 July 2012 | 6:00pm | 7:54pm | 10:07pm | £20 (full price) / £15 (concessions) / £13 members (Picturehouse venues only, prices may vary otherwise) | Book Now |
The Fairy Queen
Henry Purcell
This performance can be seen on: Sunday 22 July 2012 at 6:00pm (BST)
Glyndebourne and the Guardian are broadcasting six operas from the Glyndebourne Festival this summer.
We want to share our work with as many people as possible. Broadcasts have been part of the Glyndebourne story since the 1930s, and in 2007 we were the first opera house in the UK to screen performances into cinemas.
As well as The Fairy Queen, four other productions are being screened in cinemas.
18:30 Sunday 10 June Janáček The Cunning Little Vixen LIVE
18:00 Friday 22 June Rossini La Cenerentola (Captured Live)
18:00 Friday 17 August Mozart Le nozze di Figaro LIVE
18:30 Sunday 19 August Two short operas by Ravel LIVE
Ticket prices:
£20 (full price) / £15 (concessions) / £13 members (Picturehouse venues only, prices may vary otherwise)
Click on the following website www.picturehouses.co.uk for more details of the season, or you can either telephone or visit your local cinema.
The Fairy Queen can be seen on: Sunday 22 July 2012 at 6:00pm (BST)
Glyndebourne and the Guardian are broadcasting six operas from the Glyndebourne Festival this summer.
Following a successful partnership with the Guardian last year, glyndebourne.com and guardian.co.uk will stream Leoš Janáček's The Cunning Little Vixen, Mozart's Le Nozze di Figaro and Ravel's double bill of L'Heure Espagnole and L'Enfant et les Sortilèges live from the Festival, held from 20 May until 26 August.
Two more operas from the season will be broadcast on both sites: The Fairy Queen by Purcell and Rossini's La Cenerentola. Each opera will available to view on demand after the initial broadcast.
Act I
In accordance with the law, Theseus requires Demetrius to marry Hermia, as her father, Egeus, wishes. But Hermia is in love with Lysander, while Demetrius is the unwilling object of Helena’s love. To avoid Theseus’s edict, Hermia and Lysander flee the town, pursued by Demetrius and Helena. Meanwhile, some tradesmen are preparing a play to celebrate the expected wedding and arrange to meet for rehearsals in a nearby wood. Titania, the fairy queen, comes into the wood to hide a changeling boy from her jealous husband, Oberon. The lovers and the tradesmen blunder into the wood and are tormented by Titania’s attendants.
Act II
Oberon and Titania confront each other and, refusing to forfeit the changeling boy, Titania leaves Oberon, who plots with Puck to revenge himself on her by administering a love potion, which will make her fall in love with the first thing she sees on waking. Oberon overhears a quarrel between the lovers, and instructs Puck to use the potion on them as well.
The Masque of Sleep
Titania is prepared for sleep.
Allegorical figures of Night, Mystery, Secrecy and Sleep appear to her.
Act III
The tradesmen are rehearsing their play in the wood. Puck transforms Bottom into an ass, frightening off the other workmen. Titania wakes and becomes besotted with Bottom.
The Masque of Seduction
Titania entertains Bottom with a masque which presents the delights of sensual love, with images from pastoral life.
Interval
Act IV
Oberon brings the rightful pairs of lovers back together and releases Titania from the spell.
The Masque of the New Day
The fairy monarch’s reconciliation is celebrated with a masque of renewal. Phoebus, the Sun, appears and presents the seasons.
Act V
Theseus discovers the lovers in the wood and, finding that Demetrius no longer loves Hermia, overrules Egeus’s demands and arranges a wedding for the lovers. The tradesmen present their play in celebration of the marriage.
The Masque of Marriage
The lovers are instructed by Juno in the delights and perils of matrimony. They are presented with images of hope, loss and innocence. Hymen eventually appears to officiate.
The finale
Creative team
Conductor Laurence Cummings
Director Jonathan Kent
Designer Paul Brown
Lighting designer Mark Henderson
Choreographer Kim Brandstrup
Cast includes
Carolyn Sampson
Joélle Harvey
Claire Debono
Peter Gijsbertsen
Robert Burt
David Soar
Video Gallery
In our shop
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Blu-ray£30.00 -
DVD£30.00 -
Recordings - Festival 2012£9.00
Recommended productions
13 May - 26 August 2012
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