MASQUE OF MIGHT Purcell – Opera North

Diktat is a tyrannical ruler unleashing chaos on the planet. But, as a band of unlikely heroes forms, launching a battle of biblical proportions, can a shattered world heal in time?

Masque of Might is the world premiere of a witty and satirical new opera which sees Sir David Pountney skilfully assemble Henry Purcell’s music to create a fantastical and thoroughly modern tale of power, corruption and the gathering climate crisis. Henry Purcell is arguably England’s finest composer of music for the stage before Benjamin Britten, yet he wrote only one opera, Dido and Aeneas. Masterpiece though that undoubtedly is, much of Purcell’s greatest dramatic music is to be found in the ‘semi-operas’, masques and other entertainments that were popular in his time, such as The Fairy Queen. Masque of Might showcases Purcell’s most beautiful, as well as rarely heard, music – including the spellbinding ‘O let me weep‘ from The Fairy Queen, the virtuosic ‘Arise ye subterranean winds‘ from The Tempest and the epic chorus ‘Soul of the world‘ from Ode for St Cecilia’s Day. Harry Bicket conducts the chorus and orchestra of Opera North.

Full performance streamed on OperaVision from 3 December 2023 at 19:00 CET to 3 June 2024: https://operavision.eu/performance/masque-might

@operanorth

CAST

Nebulous / Activist / Wolf
Andri Björn Róbertsson

Elena / Witch
Anna Dennis

Tousel Blond / Fox
James Laing

Strumpet Ginger
James Hall

Diktat
Callum Thorpe

Scrofulous / Toady / Seer / Saul
Xavier Hetherington

Sceptic / Samuel
Matthew Brook

Dancers
Jonny Aubrey-Bentley
Rose Ellen Lewis
Ruby Portus
Ben Yorke-Griffiths

Orchestra
Orchestra of Opera North

Chorus
Chorus of Opera North

Music
Henry Purcell
Musical numbers edited by Huw Daniel

Text
assembled and adapted by David Pountney

Conductor
Harry Bicket

Director
David Pountney

Sets
Leslie Travers

Costume
Marie-Jeanne Lecca

Lighting
Paule Constable
Ben Pickersgill

Video design
David Haneke

Choreography
Denni Sayers

Chorus Master
Anthony Kraus

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