Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera takes to the Royal Albert Hall for Prom 7 with this semi-staged production of Purcell's The Fairy Queen. Based on Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, Purcell's "Restoration spectacular" takes the form of a series of fantastical masques presented for the entertainment of Titania, Oberon and their fairy court. Back in the late 17th century Restoration period, these elaborately staged "machine plays" with their lavish special effects, dance and moveable scenery were the equivalent of modern day musicals: deemed as vulgar and too popular by the snooty followers of "legitimate" Restoration dramas. But scorning Purcell's masterpiece of theatre music on such grounds of snobbery would be doing it a disservice, for the Fairy Queen showcases the composer's complete mastery of Baroque counterpoint and its pungent English nuances while displaying his keen absorption of Italian influences. William Christie conducts and leading lyric soprano Lucy Crowe (pictured) is amongst the strong cast.
Purcell The Fairy Queen (c180 mins) Glyndebourne Festival Opera Glyndebourne Chorus Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment William Christie conductor
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020 7589 8212 | South Kensington Tube
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Celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, the Glyndebourne Festival Opera takes to the 
