St. Cecilia Chamber Choir to perform Purcell’s ‘The Fairy-Queen’

Fri, 04/18/2014 - 7:30am

Story Location:
St. Patrick's Church
380 Academy Hill Road
Newcastle, ME 04553
United States

Theater-goers today flock to productions of Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” a play of high and low society, magic, and love. But in the 17th century, the play was in eclipse, driven off the stage by changing tastes, civil war — and closed theaters.

When Thomas Betterton and Henry Purcell created their operatic piece entitled, “The Fairy-Queen,” they chose to use parts of Shakespeare’s play as a framework for song and extravagant stage effects.

Today “The Fairy-Queen” remains a delightful, if rarely performed, masque that showcases Purcell’s incomparable music amidst humor, romance and dance.

In early May, the St. Cecilia Chamber Choir will perform “The Fairy-Queen” with the accompaniment of a professional chamber orchestra and five soloists, conducted by Linda Blanchard.

The performances will take place at St. Patrick Church, Newcastle on Saturday, May 3 at 7 p.m. and Sunday, May 4 at 3 p.m. Tickets may be purchased online at www.ceciliachoir.org or at the Maine Coast Book Shop, Damariscotta.