Purcell: The Fairy Queen (Christie)

10 / 10
1 vote cast
Rate this item

Click to read:

Purcell: The Fairy Queen (Christie)
Review added by
Alan Titherington

Recorded live at Glyndebourne, July 2009
Certificate: N/A
Running Time: 221 mins
Retail Price: £29.99
Release Date: 01/05/2010
Content Type: Musical Recording

Synopsis:
Jonathan Kent's spectacular production of Purcell's huge semi-opera is joyous, imaginative and witty. Glyndebourne, with its intimate auditorium, provides the perfect setting for a drama which is partly spoken and partly sung. Based on an adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, the story is lavished with a brilliance that justifies this production's acclaim. Paul Brown's inventive designs, Kim Brandstrup's exquisite choreography, an excellent cast of actors and singers and outstanding playing by the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under William Christie combine to make a seamless theatrical experience, here recorded in High Definition and true surround sound.

Sopranos: Lucy Crowe, Claire Debono, Anna Devin, Helen-Jane Howells, Rachel Redmond, Carolyn Sampson
Tenors: Robert Burt, Sean Clayton, Ed Lyon, Adrian Ward
Baritones: Lukas Kargl, John Mackenzie
Basses: Desmond Barrit, Andrew Foster-Williams

Titania: Sally Dexter
Oberon: Joseph Millson
Bottom: Desmond Barrit
Puck: Jotham Annan
Hermia: Susannah Wise
Helena: Helen Bradbury
Demetrius: Oliver Le Suer
Lysander: Oliver Kieran Jones

The Glyndebourne Chorus
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
Conductor: William Christie
Stage Director: Jonathan Kent

Recorded live at Glyndebourne Opera House, Lewes, East Sussex, on 17th & 19th July 2009.