Details

16th century Goa. The unhappy fisherman Zephoris spends a night on the beach after writing in the sand, Si j'etais roi (If I were king). The real King reads the words and, to amuse himself, has the sleeping Zephoris carried to the royal palace where a magic potion convinces him he is king for a day. When he wakes up, Zephoris orders a dowry for his sister and a beating for Zezel, the village bully. He recalls the army, sent off shore by the conspirator, Kadoor, who is also his rival for the affection of Nemea, a beautiful girl he rescued from drowning. When the day is over, Kadoor arrives to punish Zephoris for professing his love for Nemea and the King wants to punish whoever recalled the army. But then the canons roar: the army repels invaders from Portugal and Zephoris receives Nemea as a reward.

Cast/Performers

Joseph Calleja, Iwona Hossa, Roberto Accurso, Darren Abrahams, Tereza Matlova, Igor Morozov, Nicola Alaimo, Fiona O'Reilly

Creatives/Company

Music: Adolphe Adam
Company: Wexford Festival Opera
Director: Renaud Doucet
Design: Andre Barbe
Lighting: Rupert Murray
Costume: Huguette Barbet-Blanchard
Conductor: David Agler