Psyche - Schedule, Program & Tickets

Semi-opera in five acts
Libretto by Thomas Shadwell

Italy and France may be considered the great opera forges of the 17th century, but the most unusual musical theater works of this period probably come from England. Matthew Locke, for example, boldly experimented with new aesthetic paths and a daring harmony that was perceived by his contemporaries as being just as dissonant as his life: At the time of the strictest Puritanism, Locke converted to Catholicism, and when the theaters were about to be closed, he demonstratively composed theater music. This urge to disobey also characterizes his semi-opera Psyche (1675), in which he virtuosically interweaves spoken dialogues with arias and dance music. Actors and singers stand side by side on equal terms. The king's daughter Psyche is so unearthly beautiful that even the god of love, Cupid, courts her and makes her his lover. In order to maintain his incognito, he never shows himself in daylight - and Psyche begins to wonder who she has had an affair with.

Concert performance in English with German subtitles

Introduction to the work 30 minutes before the start of the performance

Subject to change.