The Poets' Theatre Presents KING ARTHUR

The Poets' Theatre has entered into an exciting partnership with the
Henry Purcell Society of Boston and the Arcadia Players to present
Henry Purcell's and John Dryden's rarely performed Restoration Era
Musical Spectacle, the semi-opera, King Arthur, for one performance
only on Saturday November 19th at 7:30pm at the Cathedral Church of
Saint Paul,138 Tremont Street, Boston (opposite the Park Street
Station at the top of Boston Common).

This great Restoration semi-opera (1691) is part spoken play, part
sung and played music. This hybrid work will be semi-staged by Bob
Scanlan, of the Poets' Theatre, and conducted from the harpsichord by
Arcadia Players' musical director Ian Watson, with full orchestra of
period instruments.

The Henry Purcell Society of Boston, under the direction of Jessica
Cooper, has assembled some of the finest singers available in New
England (including David Kravitz, baritone; Sarah Yanovitch, soprano;
Krista River, mezzo soprano; and Sumner Thompson, tenor) to perform
the ravishing score by Henry Purcell. The Poets' Theatre has engaged
some of the Boston area's finest actors to recite the John Dryden
scenes, which intercut with the music. Benjamin Evett, as King
Arthur, will be joined by Steven Barkhimer, Paula Langton, Esme Allen,
David Gullette, Glen Moore, and Rebecca Lehrhoff. The hybrid genre
known as "semi-opera" differs from conventional opera in that the
principal characters of the play do not sing. Thus a concert version,
semi-staged, will present the Dryden scenes as provocations for
Purcell's suite of musical pageants.

King Arthur's story is centered on the legendary "British Worthy,"
King Arthur's struggle to repulse an invasion by the Saxon monarch,
King Oswald. The wizard Merlin is there to help the Britons with
"good" magic, while an evil wizard named Osmond uses lies and black
magic to usurp the kingdom for King Oswald. The struggle between two
contenders for the crown of England, hinges on representations of the
"proper" ruler of the land, and the opera illustrates the high stakes
of such a contest for the future welfare of the country. An innocent
blind maiden named Emmeline symbolizes the peril of a misled populace,
threatened with indignity, lying, and sexual predation.

Standard issue Arthurian Legend is bent by Dryden to reflect his own
time's violent struggles to determine the "proper" British succession.
The play was first presented before King William and Queen Mary of
England, less than a year after William (of Orange, a Dutch Duke)
defeated and drove off James Ii of England, at the fateful Battle of
the Boyne (1690). William and James were both in the field at that
decisive Ulster battle, where William's wife (and his co-monarch)
Mary, saw her Catholic father soundly defeated and driven into exile.
Our own upcoming election (which will be decided by the time we
present the opera) may give us a hint of what it was like for these
co-monarchs to watch the premiere of this ambiguous allegorical opera.

This unusual partnership between three leading arts organizations in
music and theatre will provide audiences a view of a remarkable period
in the development of modern drama, opera, and music. For the Poets'
Theatre, the opportunity to present in performance the rich verse of
the great (and now neglected) English poet John Dryden, helps further
our unique mission in Boston.

Tickets can be purchased at http://www.purcell.bpt.me or by calling
800-838-3006.

To post a comment, you must register and login.