Gesualdo Six explores controversial namesake in new theatrical concert

British vocal consort the Gesualdo Six is set to present a series of theatrical concerts exploring the life of its namesake Carlo Gesualdo. Told by six singers, six actors, and a puppet, the story of the Renaissance composer infamous for the murder of his wife and her lover premieres in London on Friday (16 January).

The Death of Gesualdo opens on the composer’s deathbed and combines an exploration of the psychological and political forces that shaped his violent life with a programme of the music for which he is known. The production, which will premiere at London’s St Martin-in-the-Fields before touring to the National Centre for Early Music and the Cathedral Church of St John the Divine in New York City, is directed by former Shakespeare’s Globe director of music at Bill Barclay.

Barclay said: ‘In Death of Gesualdo, I superimpose Gesualdo’s life over his music in order to give our minds a complete understanding of both. I find his music more fascinating the more I study him, and vice versa. The framing device of Death of Gesualdo is: What does a person like this experience in the last fleeting seconds of his life? My goal was to divine a way we can all safely metabolize our greatest sinning artists. I chose the lost art of tableaux vivants as a starting point because I find the stillness awkward yet powerful – much like the man himself.’

The Death of Gesualdo sees the Gesualdo Six reunite with Barclay and with production company Concert Theatre Works to build on the success of Secret Byrd, which marked the 400th anniversary of the death of William Byrd with recreation of the secret masses the composer would have attended during the Reformation. This latest theatrical concert was commissioned as part of St Martin-in-the-Fields’ 300^th anniversary year and is a co-commission with The National Centre for Early Music and NYC’s Music Before 1800.