Name: King Arthur
Start: 2017-01-15T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2017-01-22T00:00:00.000Z
Location: Schiller Theater

Admin

Organization

Singer

Anett Fritsch

Singers

Robin Johannsen

Benno Schachtner

Conductor

René Jacobs

Stage director

Sven-Eric Bechtolf

Costume designer

Kevin Pollard

Set designer

Julian Crouch

Spoken

Michael Rotschopf

King Arthur

Max Urlacher

Oswald

Axel Wandtke

Conon

Hans-Michael Rehberg

Merlin

Oliver Stokowski

Osmond

Steffen Schortie Scheumann

Aurelius

Meike Droste

Emmeline

Sigrid Maria Schnückel

Mathilda

Bass

Tom Radisch

Grimbald

Ferdinand Kraemer

Young Arthur

Lighting designer

Olaf Freese

Video designer

Joshua Higgason

Choreographer

Gail Skrela

Dramaturge

Detlef Giese

Chorus master

Martin Wright

Soprano

Philidels Geist

Stephan Rügamer

Ténor

Mark Milhofer

Arttu Kataja

Basse

Johannes Weisser

State Opera Berlin

Orchestra

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin

Others

Staatsopernchor Berlin

Ein Skills Ensemble

English

German

Berlin

Germany

Schiller Theater

Gläsernes Foyer

King Arthur was Purcell’s biggest triumph as a composer for the theatre, enjoying revivals throughout the 1690s and well into the following century. Its patriotic content was doubtless a contributory factor, but probably more telling was the way Purcell’s music so consistently hit the target in the aspects that matter most. Of his four semioperas, this is the one which engages most intimately with the emotions and situations it depicts, showing off not just his spontaneous tunefulness and compositional skill and daring at their best, but also his dramatic genius at its most inspired.

King Arthur by H. Purcell, from Staatsoper Unter den Linden, performed at Staatsoper im Schiller Theater, Berlin, 2017. Directed by Sven-Eric Bechtolf Julian Crouch, conductor René Jacobs, starring Meike Droste, Tom Radisch, Michael Rotschopf, Hans-Michael Rehberg, Oliver Stokowski, Max Urlacher, Sigrid Maria Schnückel, Annett Fritsch, Axel Wandtke, Benno Schachtner, Robin Johannsen, Steffen Schortie Scheumann. Performed in English and subtitled in English, German, French, Japanese and Korean.

Staatsoper Unter den Linden

What does Henry Purcell (1659–1695) mean by “dramatick opera,” the description of his King Arthur, or The British Worthy? Conductor René Jacobs—Baroque specialist and connoisseur since his beginnings as a countertenor in the 1970s—makes it clear in a new production of the masterwork, staged by the brilliant Sven-Eric Bechtolf, which cleverly adapts the original dialogues that animated the hybrid music-theatre form in 17th-century England.

This version of the 1691 semi-opera puts a refreshing twist on the story of King Arthur, transposing the action to World War II-era England where politics and history blend with satire and fantasy to create a fascinating and polished final product. The expressive force, breathtaking variety, and inexhaustible beauty of Purcell’s score are rounded out by fragments of different works by Purcell and others, often accompanying the reshaped spoken dialogues in an almost cinematic style; the spellbinding music, coupled with magnetic stage performances, dazzling sets and costumes, panoramic video projections, and even puppets, make this a compelling interpretation of a timeless classic you'll want to watch again and again!

King Arthur Purcell

Public

Approved

Production booklet

Further reading