A Mock-Opera

Words by Shakespeare
Set to Music by John Frederick Lampe
With a Little Help From Purcell’s A Fairy Queen

The GRAMMY-winning BEMF Chamber Opera Series returns to 18^th-century London and John Frederick Lampe’s hilarious follow-up to The Dragon of Wantley. Audiences were flocking to new Shakespeare adaptations, and if you can’t beat them, join them!

With “words taken from Shakespeare” and his play-within-a-play from A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Lampe’s Pyramus & Thisbe expands the emotional range of the original to include heart-rending lyricism between the episodes of typically English silliness. Falling in love through a crack in a wall, ill-fated Pyramus and Thisbe plan a moonlit rendezvous in the shade of a mulberry tree, before a ferocious lion gets in the way and a tragedy of misunderstandings ensues.

Period-inspired staging, lavish costumes, and gorgeous Baroque dance bring this satirical romp to life with an all-star cast of singers, dancers, and instrumentalists in this new production led by Musical Directors Stephen Stubbs and Paul O’Dette, Stage Director and Choreographer Marie-Nathalie Lacoursière, and Concertmaster Robert Mealy.

PRE-OPERA TALKS: Join us one hour before each performance in Boston for an engaging talk featuring celebrated author and musicologist Ellen T. Harris