Vox Luminis (photo Leslie Artamonow)

Purcell’s The Fairy Queen

Vox Luminis
Sun 23 Feb 2025 19:30 - 22:30
Sun 23 Feb 2025
19:30 - 22:30
  • Sun 23 Feb 2025
    19:30 - 22:30
    Grote Zaal

Program

The Fairy Queen by Henry Purcell on a libretto by John Dryden (based on A Midsummer Night’s Dream by William Shakespeare)

Credits

Vox Luminis
Tuomo Suni concertmaster 
Simon Robson actor, text
Isaline Claeys dramaturgy, text
Emilie Lauwers scenography, concept
Mário Melo Costa video production
David Carney decor, light design

Staged version of ground-breaking semi-opera

‘It’s as if it was written for them,’ the press raved about The Fairy Queen à la Vox. For his pioneering semi-opera, Henry Purcell turned to the words of that other English giant, William Shakespeare. The result - a fairy tale in which nothing is what it seems - is populated by shadow puppets in Isaline Claeys’ production. The work of set designer Lauwers and videographer Mário Melo Costa add to the creation of an enchanting experience for the audience.

Purcell distributed the vocal parts over a large number of soloists, resulting in a multitude of voices that populate this world of illusion and suggestion. The sparkling voices of the ensemble resound between the shadow puppets, like visions between the material and immaterial worlds.