"The Indian Queen” by Henry Purcell with Utopia Orchestra & Choir

Teodor Currentzis and his ensemble, Utopia, are currently on a concert tour of Henry Purcell’s « The Indian Queen ». Performances are scheduled for February 17th at the Philharmonie Berlin and February 21st at De Singel Antwerp.

A private concert of the opera featuring the Utopia orchestra and choir with Amira Casar and Jeanine De Bique, was held at the Église Saint Eustache in Paris on February 5th at 8 pm.

Based on John Dryden and Robert Howard’s 17th-century heroic drama, the 50-minute original score of Henry Purcell’s semi-opera « The Indian Queen » was expanded by Peter Sellars and Teodor Currentzis with expressive and achingly beautiful solo songs, arias, and sacred choral works by the composer.

The production boasts a stellar vocal cast: Jeanine De Bique features the title role of Teculihuatzin / Doña Luisa, while the French actress Amira Casar weaves a poignant tale of the Spanish conquest of Central America through the lens of three women, drawing inspiration from Rosario Aguilar’s novel « La niña blanca y los pájaros sin pies ».

This concert tour will complement Utopia and Currentzis’ ongoing baroque program and serve as a satellite project for their premiere of Rameau’s opera « Castor and Pollux », at the Opéra Garnier in Paris. Directed by Peter Sellars, the production is running until February 23rd, 2025.

Teodor Currentzis is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Utopia Orchestra and Choir, the Artistic Director of musicAeterna Orchestra. His acclaimed collaborations with world-leading concert halls and renowned theatre directors, namely Robert Wilson, Romeo Castellucci, and Peter Sellars, have earned him international recognition. Currentzis’s award-winning recordings on Sony Classical featuring works by Mozart, Mahler, Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Rameau, and Stravinsky have received numerous accolades, further solidifying his status as a musical visionary.

Utopia is an international festival orchestra and choir founded by the conductor Teodor Currentzis to bring together the finest musicians from all around the world. In its substance, it is an idealistic attempt to find an approach to music creation which makes it possible to reach the inner essence of a musical text. Since its debut in 2022, Utopia has graced prestigious concert halls such as the Philharmonie Berlin, the Wiener Konzerthaus, and the Elbphilharmonie.

Photos: Ayka Lux & Alexey Kostromin