The Gesualdo Six and Bill Barclay: Death of Gesualdo

Following a string of 5-star reviews and sell-out performances, The Gesualdo Six return to St Martin’s with Death of Gesualdo. Reunited with director Bill Barclay, the ensemble brings this visceral theatrical experience to our stage once again following widespread international acclaim.

Six singers, six actors and a puppet enact a series of narrative tableaux which open on the composer’s deathbed and superimpose iconic moments from his life onto some of his most chilling music. The result, a Stations of the Cross for the composer’s tortured conscience, is the boldest look yet at how the life and music of this enigmatic prodigy must function together for the true Gesualdo to emerge from the shadows.

The madrigalist Carlo Gesualdo (1566-1613) may be most famous for murdering his wife and her lover in bed, but among composers he is revered for anticipating chromaticism by 200 years. Gesualdo’s tortured mind led him into a life of violence and suffering, concluding in appalling tales of sorcery and flagellation. However shockingly macabre his biography, the Prince of Venosa’s malignant narcissism can be traced to key incidents from his upbringing in the zero-sum game of Catholic politics.

Commissioned by St Martin-in-the-Fields, The National Centre for Early Music in York, and Music Before 1800 in NYC.

Performers and creative team:
Performed by The Gesualdo Six (director Owain Park) with six actors.

Created and directed by Bill Barclay
Choreography by Will Tuckett
Puppet design by Janni Younge
Costumes by Arthur Oliver
Produced by Concert Theatre Works