A revival of Purcell's Fairy Queen

UPDATE: The goal has been met, but there's still time to collaborate with the project. 1000 euros more will allow us to cover expenses that were originally thought to be an investment from the Ensemble, such as the travel costs for our German team and the video recording of the general rehearsal and the premiere.
Please feel free to keep on sharing this campaign to make it even more successful than it already is.

The musicians of Seconda Prat!ca join their forces with an outstanding artistic team to bring back to life Henry Purcell's incidental music for Shakespeare's 'Midsummer Night's Dream'. Your support will allow us to cover the production costs of this complex cross-media performance, conceived by our regisseur Eduardo Rojas.

The Fairy Queen was the third semi-opera Purcell composed for the United Company of the Theatre Royal. It was the most lavish and expensive show of the decade. In 1693 Purcell revised and added to the original score, which is probably his finest theatre work. Purcell did not in fact set any of Shakespeare’s lines and all the music is in self-contained masques which little affect the play. Free from the ties of a pre-established plot, each song and scene was carefully crafted by the composer in order to represent a whole musical and dramatic universe in the most effective - though strikingly economic - way, to paint each character with all the means available to him as a composer and as a performer. In this way, every scene stands in its core as a highly detailed miniature, as a character piece, regardless of its size in terms of instrumentation.

Even though Purcell and his librettist didn't follow Shakespeare's original play, some elements of its plot can be traced in the scenes which the composer set to music. Elements that can, in turn, be used as points of departure for our own dramaturgy, and by doing so, to inspire the musicians by giving them tools to convincingly present themselves on stage. Furthermore, following Purcell's spirit of making Shakespeare's material current to the audience of its time, it is not our intention to present a historical reconstruction according to the conventions of baroque theater, but to create an effective connection with an audience today.

And for this we need your help.

The core of our scenic proposal lays in the bond of a couple with their son and with each-other. The Child figure will be represented on stage by a puppet, hand-made specially for this project by Saeta Hernando. Saeta will also make animations to be projected during the performance. Furthermore, the stage design will include pieces by Augusta Windmüller, from beautiful paintings to hand-made props.
Your donation will be used to cover specific production costs: the creation of a puppet, animation, paintings, costumes and make-up.

In exchange for your contribution you will have access to a variety of rewards. These include video recordings of the rehearsal process and the performance, unique souvenirs such as cd’s and hand-bound songbooks, and even private concerts for you and your guests.
And please feel free to come to the premiere, by booking your ticket here.
Thank you and remember to share this page and the event with your contacts!