
Good bye dear Meastro Alan Curtis. (Center)
July 15th 2015, my dear friend and conductor / musicologist: Maestro Alan Curtis passed while walking (as always) at top speed through the baking hot city of Florence.
He had become almost a living legend within the operatic world as he had revolutionised the presentation of baroque music, believing firmly in authenticity as the only way to go. We felt that following the road to true authenticity should never be boring. With "ERCOLE", we were certainly proven right!
As a person, everyone who knew him would I know say the same thing - that a kinder more generous man you could not hope to find. The photograph above shows him beaming his truly wonderful smile - which was the most sincere and heart warming that anyone could hope to encounter.

The photograph was taken following the opening night of our 'radically authentic' (and as it happened - controversial & extremely successful) first production which which we had created in 2006 for our mutual friend the (now deceased) founder of the two Spoleto Festivals - Mo GIAN CARLO MENOTTI. The project was Vivaldi's "ERCOLE SUL TERMODONTE" , in it's first presentation in 250 years.
(Check out any number of pieces on You Tube)
It's frequently known as the "nude Ercole" owing to the fact that the Ercole (Hercules) was dressed as you see ... authentically. That is - completely nude with just the skin of the Nemean lion over one shoulder. As for the phalli ... well perhaps check out the many truncated phallic statues on Delos which were our 'authentic' reference.
Is anyone bored with our 'authentic' world? Let me tell you, that no one was ever bored around dear Alan, and both I and the rest of the world will miss him enormously.
With greatest respect and enormous affection
John Pascoe