DVD1
Opening [0:26]
No.2 Overture [1:57]
Hier ist's, wo sie ihr heindnisch
Wesen treiben [9:59]
No.4 Overture [1:34]
Act I
Wotan, hore uns! [5:24]
No.5 Woden, first to thee [8:56]
No.6 The White Horse neigh'd aloud
No.7 The lot is cast
No.9 I call ye all
Der heisse, rote Saft der Opfer trankt
die Erde [1:17]
No.10 Come if you dare [3:15]
No.11 First Act Tune
Act II
's ist Krieg! 's ist Krieg!"
[1:26]
No.3 Air [0:45]
Wer bist du, Geist, wes Namens und
von welcher Art? [5:46]
No.12 Hither this way [2:17]
Wohin nun fuhrt der Weg? [0:58]
No.13 Let not a moon-born elf mislead
ye [1:45]
No.14 Hither this way
Warum zieht dies Gezirpe sie nur an?
[0:44]
No.15 Come follow me [3:45]
Du kannst dich noch so fien und fromm
verkleiden [4:16]
No.16 How blest are shepherds
[4:23]
No.17 Shepherd, shepherd, lead up
Mein Arthur, sprich, bist du zuruck
[8:09]
No.18 Chaconne [3:34]
DVD 2
No.19 Second Act Tune: Air [1:12]
Act III
Der Weg bis hierher ist gesichert
[7:25]
We must work, we must haste [2:38]
Thus, thus I infuse
Emmeline! [7:02]
No.41 You say, tis love [5:35]
Mein Furst, riskant war es, so lang
zu bleiben [5:15]
The Frost Scene [6:31]
No.20 Prelude
No.21 What ho, thou genius of this isle
No.22 What power art thou
No.23 Thou doting fool
No.24 Great love, I know thee now
No.25 No part of my dominion
No.26 Prelude [10:06]
No.27 See, see, we assemble
No.28 Tis I, tis, that have warm'd ye
No.29 Sound a parley
No.28a Tis love, tis love
Gern erkenn ich deine Kunste an
[3:29]
No.30 Third Act Tune: Hornpipe
[0:38]
Act IV
Merlin's Intermezzo [3:30]
Arthur, ich hab uberall gesucht
[3:01]
Oh, was kommt denn da? [3:53]
No.31 Two daughters of this aged stream
Mir riesen Wonneschauer durch die
Adern [5:03]
No.33 Fourth Act Tune: Air [0:37]
Act V
Verlucht! Grimbald gefangen und der
Wald entzaubert [1:16]
No.43 St George, the patron of our
isle! [1:43]
Gib des geschlagen und bitte um dein
Leben [2:40]
No.34 Trumpet Tune [1:04]
No.42 Trumpet Tune
Endlich, endlich halt ich dich in
meinen Armen [2:53]
No.35 Ye blust'ring brethren of the
skies [4:13]
No.36 Symphony
No.37 Round thy coasts
No.39 Your hay it is mow'd [2:29]
No.40 Fairest isle [3:00]
Merlin, sclau hast du nur, was uns
gefallt, hier offenbart [0:43]
No.32 How happy the love [6:42]
Credits [1:56]
Purcell’s King Arthur,
or The British Worthy, is
a semi-opera in five acts, with a libretto
by John Dryden (1631-1700), Poet Laureate
during the reigns of King Charles II
and King James II. It is a celebration
of England and Englishness, and the
healing power of monarchy. Penned by
Dryden in 1684, it was first performed
in its operatic form at the Queen’s
Theatre, Dorset Gardens, London, in
1691, early in the reign of William
and Mary.
Central to the plot
is Arthur’s love for Emmeline, the daughter
of Conon, Duke of Cornwall, and her
capture by the Saxon warrior-king, Oswald
of Kent, following his defeat by Arthur.
The Saxons are aided by the sorcerer
Osmond, the Britons by Merlin and the
Celtic spirits. Osmond demonstrates
his magical powers by summoning up the
Cold Genius, whose icy influence is
only dissipated – eventually – by love.
King Arthur
bears little relation to either the
Mediaeval Arthurian Romances or the
‘historical’ Arthur of the sixth century
AD, but is an allegory of the political
situation in late seventeenth century
England. Through the medium of theatre,
Dryden uses the conflict between native
Britons (Celts), led by Arthur, and
invading Saxons, under Oswald of Kent,
to represent the English Civil Wars
of the 1640s and 1650s. Dryden’s play
takes us from conflict to peace, with
the eventual unification of England
under her monarchy – Arthur is Charles
II, restored to the throne, and the
nation is at ease with itself.
This Austrian production,
part of the 2004 Salzburg Festival,
removes all traces of the opera’s original
context and places it firmly in the
present day – perhaps even, judging
by some of the more bizarre costumes,
the not-too-distant future. Contemporary
references have been inserted, annoyingly
and pointlessly, into the dialogue,
which is in German (with sub-titles)
and into several of the songs, which
are in English. I cannot be alone in
finding the presence on stage of traffic
cones somewhat disquieting, as also
the excessively comic penguins in the
Ice scene.
"Your hay it is mowed"
is performed - if that is the right
word - in the style of a late-night
karaoke session – and I cringed to hear
"the honour of old England" shouted
as if by a binge-drinker on his way
home from a night-club. On a more positive
note, the slapstick moments in the play
are more authentic, or at least in the
spirit of the original, and the staging
is reasonably impressive – the projection
of Merlin’s face onto the sky worked
well; though I was not so sure about
him when he appeared later on stage,
wearing Tyrolean costume complete with
feathered hat. More seriously, whilst
the Viennese orchestra seems to have
mastered the English Baroque with ease,
and the large choral pieces are performed
extremely well, often with great energy,
solo performances are lacklustre. Fairest
Isle is particularly disappointing
– unforgiveable, for the crowning moment
of the production - and the singer exudes
neither passion nor patriotic fervour
- not least because of her obvious discomfort
at having to sing in English. This is
a DVD that I will probably not be watching
again.
Em Marshall
|
|
Isabel Rey, soprano; Barbara Bonney, soprano;
Birgit Remmert, alto; Michael Schade, tenor; Oliver
Widmer, baritone. 
EUROARTS DVD 2054509 [74:00 + 95:00] 
