Barbican, London
Daisy Evan’s bold new version – reflecting on national identity – was strongly performed, but the update failed to bring much needed coherence to Dryden’s vast text
Purcell’s King Arthur has long been a problematic work. It’s not quite an opera, not quite a play; the singing characters are bit parts, the story is one that only a devoted Arthurian scholar will recognise. Purcell’s music is incidental to a vast and largely forgettable text by Dryden. Most modern performances adapt both drama and words, but it takes a director as determined as Daisy Evans to offer a rewriting as bold as this: a reflection on national identity – King Arthur in the age of Brexit.
Source: Opera News from The Guardian (UK)
