Henry Purcell: The Fairy Queen N. Harnoncourt

Director - Philipp Harnoncourt
Soprano - Dorothea Röschmann
Soprano - Martina Janková
Mezzo-soprano - Elisabeth von Magnus
Countertenor - Terry Wey
Tenor - Joshua Ellicott
Bass - Florian Boesch
Conductor - Nikolaus Harnoncourt

[@kovaliov7]

If love is a sweet passion...., is the best love song of the history of music.

[@hermesnoelthefourthway]

You could very well be right there. Purcell came as a revelation into my life twenty years ago. A chance encounter in a swimming pool in Chelsea , London , with an artist who started to praise the music of Purcell , who I'd never heard of. As Nietzsche once said , "from time to time there is magic". And there sure is. And the best chaconne ever written? Surely the one at the end of The Fairy Queen. Rapturous

[@bakedcreations8985]

Totally agree, a timeless love song, Henry is reaching us beyond time and space

[@eldacar351]

Considering this is a restoration-spectacular, it's still one of my favorite operas. There are really some moving moments in it.

[@suesmith2183]

The great and much mourned Harnoncourt with Concentus Musicus, Wien. Yes, he's very much missed. I saw him in his last concert at the Musikverein in May, 2015.

[@carlosginzburg5694]

Increíble versión in profundis de esta obra. Casi un himno. Extraordinarias voces actuantes para gozar atentamente cada una, con una orquestación muy emotiva, plena y sonora. Histórico Harnoncourt en una de sus más exquisitas e inteligentes interpretaciones. Mario Carlos Ginzburg desde Buenos Aires.

[@CrimsonA1]

From the first few minutes of this concert: I was taken away, Anyone here who could guide us normal peoples on classic musical scores? We want to be taken away by these masterpieces. Help guide us through the process of orchestra! We WANT to contribute to such beauty!!!!

[@Bachback]

BBC Radio 3's Building a Library has just devoted an episode to Purcell's Fairy Queen. Check it out.

[@pbrynild]

No, nothing! No, nothing! No nothing! No nothing offend the Fairy Queen! ❤

[@rosiebowers1671]

Watching this with English subs would be perfection

[@carlosginzburg5694]

Agrego, es un perfecto musical muy actual, no explotado por Hollywood que sólo Harnoncourt pudo gestar. Si Purcell viviera ....

[@experimentalis]

many many thanks

[@kalmanbrand6480]

Not sure where the Faerie Queen is on stage--hard to follow the staging

[@trappergm9850]

8:17 Scene of the drunken poet 22:30 Now join your warbling voices 35:00 Hush no more 52:16 Coridon and Mopsa

[@michaelmisanthrope]

HELP !. I can't tell the difference between an adagio and a largo but this is pure beauty. Thank you AndTok2. Thank you from the (where's the rest of my comment?).

[@emilianoturazzi]

largo is slower :)

[@josephbasha2941]

I love Music of all periods However The restoration period with the arrival to the throne of CH ll New tone and adventure came with his Sail .delightful

[@laurenceskinnerton73]

Very good.

[@robbertvanoosten2530]

Modernistic progressive hate, against aesthetics and beauty. I never get used to it, It never gets easier..

[@circa1720]

Majestic Purcell work, first-rate performance by musicians - ruined by unwatchable, grotesque trash staging. What a crime.

[@kptrzk9398]

100% agree -- 5 mins in and I have to hide the video.

[@ichirofakename]

Not ruined for me, though degraded.

[@christianwouters6764]

It surprises me that the musicians are willing to participate in the postmodern fantasies of the directors. In a way Harnoncourt is himself made ridiculous by this tasteless and stupid scenery.

[@zoefang4563]

If love's sweet passion why does it torment???

[@margosha968]

божественный Перселл....

[@pascalgigi9917]

You re right... we should never forget it even though harnoncourt is here very brilliant

[@cyranor.2956]

11:43

[@g4okt]

Some dodgy translation in parts...."night and I improve the tast"? Some of the chorus parts were great, but overall, poor staging to be honest

[@julianmunby3535]

No translation - it has an English libretto!

[@CrimsonA1]

Is this a modern take on smoking??? Because if it is, I wish to attend most operas dealing with this very issue. It will take several decades to rid of this habit, and I won't force it to go away. However, thank you for those who wish to make it presentable enough! This habit can vanish after enough learning!!!

[@pascalgigi9917]

With harnoncourt this is always good quality even though purcell was far from this rendition. Impressed by harnoncourt defintely a great master

[@user-oz8rz1nb8o]

Прекрасная музыка, НО ужасная постановка...

[@tobiashume6040]

belle musique... mise en scène moche et caricaturale, comme d'habitude

[@bobinouc598]

I was soooo disappointed by this performance for which I had very high hopes, but frankly I didn't find it up to the high standards that Harnoncourt and the Concentus Musicus have allowed us to expect. The execution was at times sloppy, and the chorus's diction was appallingly poor although much of the solo work was very fine ['See, see my many colored fields' was a real standout]. As for the staging, well, one would need to visit the director's mind to have some notion of what it was about, and I'm sure that is a place where an abundance of confusion reigns!

[@LeonMare49]

Yeah, horrible mod staging whatever it is called. Not the best Purcell either... I remember one or two good pieces from a CD set - not going thru this. However I have a CD of Purcell with very nice music: 'Welcome to all the pleasures' etc

[@theon9575]

The best way to enjoy the opera these days is to close your eyes and listen, sadly. As a fan of Harnoncourt, I had high expcetations but was disappointed by this. It lacks the verve and sprightliness of Purcell. Try Benjamin Britten's version - a lively English world apart from this.

[@alefpontessilva1093]

Who's here from book Anne of green Gables?

[@crapstermcduck6593]

That applause was annoyingly long for KZbin.

[@SonicPhonic]

Horrible staging-beyond bad. I could have done a better job and I'm no costume and set designer. Why don't they respect the period of the work instead of having televisions, people smoking, 50's hairstyles, and plastic sunglasses? Has the designer heard of "history"? This is a 17th Century opera, not an 1950's American TV show!

[@jesusmariarodrigueznavarro2846]

Michael Gfroerer w

[@camstilton]

The anonymous writer who adapted The Fairy Queen from A Midsummer Night's Dream didn't have much respect for the period of Shakespeare's work, either. If everybody had such respect, the piece wouldn't exist at all.

[@yohananweininger567]

Compare this dark staging with the light ballet masque play mix of the English National Opera production (2002?), which also has high even higher musical standards. For a while that much better Fairy Queen was accessible here on youtube.

[@maxfochtmann9576]

Так точно. Картинка бесобразная. Но музика прекрасна. Представьте себя Борджи енд Бесс в костюмах 17. ого века.

[@ichirofakename]

Was this performance outdoors or something? What excuse is there for the miking? That's a mighty wimpy orchestra to have trouble singing over. Ludicrous staging. Fabulous music makes it worthwhile anyways.

[@hauthot287]

They could’ve done that drag better