Young People's Opera Society of B.C. presents The Faerie Queen beginning Oct. 20 at the Surrey Arts Centre.
Boaz Joseph / The Leader

By Alex Browne - Surrey North Delta Leader
Published: October 16, 2009 8:00 AM

The Young People’s Opera Society of B.C. – which, in earlier presentations, has explored the realms of fantasy and celebrated B.C. history – will take audiences on a trip to the early days of the opera with its upcoming production, The Faerie Queene.

The semi-opera, based on a loose adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, by English Restoration-era composer Henry Purcell, was first performed in 1692.

It's full of the fantasy and magic and buffoonery associated with Shakespeare’s original, although the script is an abridgment of the play, designed as the vehicle for a series of masque-like scenes.

Following Purcell’s death, three years after it was first produced, the score of The Faerie Queene was lost until the early 20th century. But in recent decades, it has grown in popularity as one of the masterworks of the Baroque era, with several arias becoming well-known recital pieces.

And lest it be felt this is rather esoteric material for a cast predominantly in the 10-21 age range, it’s worth noting a contemporary description of the first performance reveals that the parts of Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the fairies were played by children – and presumably most of the other fairy roles as well.

The cast includes Colleen Donnelly, well known from Fraser Valley Gilbert & Sullivan productions, as the lead fairy; Lorne S. Jones as Snug the Joiner, one of Shakespeare’s celebrated ‘mechanicals’; and Nicole White as Titania’s Fairy.

The 25-strong cast also includes performers from Surrey Dance Centre, under the direction of choreographers Rori Bruschinsky and Tracy Dekker. Musical and artistic direction for the production is provided by another well-known personality: singer, choral director and teacher Mark Donnelly (father of Colleen) - known, even outside musical circles, as Mr. O' Canada for his operatic performance of the national anthem at Vancouver Canucks home games.

An expert in Renaissance choral polyphony – he has just been engaged by a monastery in Oklahoma as vocal coach – the senior Donnelly admits his principal familiarity with Purcell’s music was during his college years.

"My big surprise, not having done a lot of Purcell recently, was reacquainting myself with the quality of his composition. Some people say The Faerie Queene is better than his Dido and Aneas and Ode to St. Cecilia. There are some absolutely sublime solos."

Particularly impressive is the subtlety of Purcell’s writing, Donnelly said, in which even the choice of an eighth-note pick-up to a phrase can be more telling than the expected sixteenth-note pickup, bringing out the lyric more fully.

“He has a way of writing that is very florid and at the same time very tender – that’s real genius.”

“It requires a tremendous amount of precision – more than Gilbert & Sullivan – but once you get it, it seems very logical. Once you feel the rhythm of the piece, you realize it should be like that.”

The Faerie Queene has none of the heaviness that one might associate with late operas in the Italian or German traditions – the operas of Purcell’s time were more concerned with providing diverting entertainment tailored to both audience and occasion.

And Donnelly says he is happy with the way the cast has responded to the material.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm, and wonderful people in the show,” he said.
Colleen, who was cast before he signed on as musical director, is fortunate to have some of Purcell’s most attractive arias assigned to her role, he said.
“And opening night is her 18th birthday.”

Some of his task in guiding the show has been to let the performers know they can have fun with the show, even though, as he cautioned them in an early rehearsal, “comedy is very serious fun.”
And he’s sure the performers will communicate that sense of fun to the audience.

“I hope they leave with a smile,” Donnelly said.
“The same as with Shakespeare’s original. That’s what Shakespeare wanted, and I think Purcell was the same way – just because the music is so charming.
“Although the performers are all students and it is an amateur performance, I hope we’re making a little bit of beauty available to people.”

The Faerie Queene runs at the Surrey Arts Centre from Oct. 20-24. All performances are at 7 p.m. with an additional 2:30 p.m. matinee on Saturday, Oct. 24. For tickets ($10-$20), call 604-644-4415