In 'The Fairy Queen,' two artistic geniuses met. The scenario is an adaptation of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream; the music is by Henry Purcell, the greatest English composer of his day. The result is one of the first great operas, a dazzling display of music and emotion that has lost none of its power since its premiere in 1692.

Much of the music has come to have a life beyond the opera itself: songs such as "The Plaint," "Thrice Happy Lovers" and "Hark! The Echoing air" now regularly grace the concert hall stage, a delight for singers and audiences alike.

This studio recording was made with Australia's pre-eminent independent opera company, Pinchgut Opera, in 2003, and is re-released here in deluxe packaging. The cast features the finest Australian singers (Sara Macliver, Sally-Anne Russell and Paul McMahon to name but three) under the direction of Baroque specialist Antony Walker. The period instruments of the Orchestra of the Antipodes provide accompaniment of vibrant colour and immediacy.