Early music ensemble Alkemie will present a festival weekend of performances and celebrations May 2-4, 2025. Friday and Saturday will feature two world-premiere performances of Sir Orfeo. 270 years before the very first opera set the story of Orpheus’ journey to the underworld, the Breton text of the “Lai of Sir Orfeo” was recorded in the Auchinleck Manuscript. In this version of the legend, Orpheus visits the realm of the Fae rather than the underworld. Alkemie core member Ben Matus sets the Middle English Lai in its original language (with projected subtitles) through re-worked contemporaneous music.
The myth, which continued in an unbroken tradition until at least the 19th century in the Northern Islands (Shetland and Orkney Islands), touches on modern themes of “otherness” and examines a reconciliation where the Fae incorporate themselves into the human world without being subsumed by it. As Matus explains, “I was driven by the uniqueness of Sir Orfeo and how that relates to British medieval music and experience. The classical underworld and deities are replaced with the fairies popular to this day in British folklore and Romantasy novels alike. The medieval retelling’s focus on otherness and reconciliation feels both timeless and timely.”
The weekend will conclude with a free, family-friendly May Day celebration in Prospect Park, near Alkemie’s homebase. Participants are encouraged to bring a picnic lunch to this casual, drop-in event, which will take place near the Peristyle on the south side of the Park. May Day is a celebration of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, and Alkemie’s inaugural iteration will include a guided May Day dance, a demonstration of non-amplified medieval instruments (fiddle, recorder, small harp), a May Day trivia scavenger hunt, and more fun activities.
Akemie invites all festival attendees to come dressed in the spirit of your favorite mythical creature!
Alkemie co-directors Sian Ricketts and Tracy Cowart have lived in Flatbush for the last ten years and deeply value the community there. “The strong culture of picnicking and celebrating in Prospect Park inspired us to bring our own free event to the site – we can’t wait to celebrate medieval music and the springtime in our favorite park.”
Event details:
Friday, May 2, 7:30pm
Sir Orfeo
All Saints Episcopal
230 E 60th Street, NYC 10022
Saturday, May 3, 7:30pm
Sir Orfeo
Jalopy Theatre
315 Columbia St, Brooklyn, NY 11231
Sunday, May 4, 2:00pm – 5:00pm
May Day Celebration
Near the Peristyle, Prospect Park
This event is free and open to the public.
For more information and to buy tickets, please visit: https://bit.ly/floralia-fest
