Diktat is a tyrannical ruler unleashing chaos on the planet. But, as a band of unlikely heroes forms, launching a battle of biblical proportions, can a shattered world heal in time?

Masque of Might is the world premiere of a witty and satirical new opera which sees Sir David Pountney skilfully assemble Henry Purcell’s music to create a fantastical and thoroughly modern tale of power, corruption and the gathering climate crisis. Henry Purcell is arguably England’s finest composer of music for the stage before Benjamin Britten, yet he wrote only one opera, Dido and Aeneas. Masterpiece though that undoubtedly is, much of Purcell’s greatest dramatic music is to be found in the ‘semi-operas’, masques and other entertainments that were popular in his time, such as The Fairy Queen.  Masque of Might showcases Purcell’s most beautiful, as well as rarely heard, music – including the spellbinding ‘O let me weep‘ from The Fairy Queen, the virtuosic ‘Arise ye subterranean winds‘ from The Tempest and the epic chorus ‘Soul of the world‘ from Ode for St Cecilia’s Day. Harry Bicket conducts the chorus and orchestra of Opera North.