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Donald Macleod takes us backstage in London’s new Restoration era theatres to hear the stage music Purcell wrote set against the changing political environment in which those plays were conceived.

This week of programmes sets Purcell’s work during his short life in the context of the turbulent times in which he lived. This was a period of intense political and social change, encompassing three different monarchies, the plague, the great fire of London, and the arrival of another deadly pandemic.

A homesick William III hated London, and was not a big patron of the arts as his predecessor, Charles II, had been. The court lost its importance as the centre of London’s musical life and Purcell increasingly turned his attention towards theatre and public concerts. Many set the words of John Dryden, including the comedy Amphitryon, The Indian Queen and King Arthur. In 1689, the year William and Mary were crowned, Purcell wrote his only full opera, Dido and Aeneas.

Dido and Aeneas, Z626 (excerpts)
Emily Van Evera, soprano (Dido)
Janet Lax, mezzo-soprano (Belinda)
Taverner Players
Andrew Parrott, conductor

The Fairy Queen, Z629 (excerpts)
Scholars Baroque Ensemble

The Indian Queen, Z630 (excerpts)
Emma Kirkby, soprano
John Mark Ainsley, tenor
Julian Podger, tenor
Helen Parker, soprano
Libby Crabtree, soprano
David Thomas, bass
Academy of Ancient Music Choir
Academy of Ancient Music
Christopher Hogwood, conductor

King Arthur, Z628, "The British Worthy" (excerpts)
Gillian Ross, soprano
Paul Elliott, tenor
Stephen Varcoe, bass-baritone
Monteverdi Choir
English Baroque Soloists
John Eliot Gardiner, conductor

Produced by Iain Chambers