King Arthur, first produced in 1691, the second of the great semi-operas (plays with elaborate music) that Purcell wrote for the London theatres, contains some of his most memorable theatre music.  John Dryden’s play owes little to the Mediaeval legends of Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. Instead, it is a tale of conflict between King Arthur and the Britons and his opponent Oswald, King of the Saxons.

Arthur’s magician Merlin has his counterpart in the evil Saxon sorcerer Osmond, and they each have an attendant spirit: Phillidel and Grimbald respectively, equivalent to Ariel and Caliban in The Tempest. Thus much of Purcell’s music accompanies spectacular displays of magic, notably in the famous Frost Scene, conjured up by Osmond to seduce Emmeline, Arthur’s intended bride.  The Act V masque, in which Merlin shows Arthur and Oswald a vision of a future united Britain, ranges from low comedy – the song ‘Your hay it is mowed’, sung and danced by Comus and a group of peasants – to the sublime – the evergreen song ‘Fairest isle’, sung by Venus.

In this complete concert performance we present a new version of the work that aims to reconstruct the music as originally heard in the 1691 performances. The musical scenes are linked by a specially written script conveying the essence of Dryden’s play, spoken by Richard Andrews and members of the Suffolk Poetry Society.