Mark Morris’s productions are known for being both meticulously musical and palpably frivolous, and it is these attributes that audiences and critics either love or hate. More so than most other choreographers’ works, Mr. Morris’s have brought forth a divided mass of fervent followers and challengers.

This was true of Mr. Morris’s production of Henry Purcell’s semi-opera “King Arthur” when it appeared in London and Berkeley in 2006, and it may well prove true when this same production has its New York premiere at the New York State Theater for New York City Opera on Wednesday. As in most of Mr. Morris’s other works, it was the music — rather than an idea or concept — that guided the scene and story of “King Arthur.”

“The music is clever, wonderful, exciting, exuberant,” Mr. Morris said last week. “It’s the kind of music that stays in your head and you keep on humming after you no longer hear it.”

When originally performed in 1691, “King Arthur” was a four-hour historical epic composed of music, dance, song, and spoken text in rhyming couplets by John Dryden. It has a comparatively scant performance history, perhaps due to its hybrid nature as a “semi-opera.” The plot centers on King Arthur’s struggle against Oswald and his invading Saxons — while valiantly rescuing his beloved Emmeline — and culminates in a joyous celebration of the British empire.

In Mr. Morris’s production, Dryden’s spoken text has been cut completely, the king has been reduced to a crown, and the overall show is neatly compressed into 110 minutes.

“The problem with the text is in the way it was written — it’s in rhymed couplets. It’s boring, and I got rid of it,” Mr. Morris said with typical bluntness. “It’s just so old that the play doesn’t make sense anymore,” he explained. “But the music is beautiful.”

As Dryden’s spoken text originally conveyed most of the saga’s narrative thread, and his sung lyrics bore only limited action, Mr. Morris had little explicit plot to work into his production, and could thus let musicality motivate all movement. What he came up with is a joyous celebration and near timeless burst of vivacity and love, with little resemblance to Purcell’s epic about heroism, nationalism, and chivalry.

Mr. Morris’s “King Arthur” takes place over five nearly self-contained acts. During the course of the production, seven musical soloists intermingle with the Mark Morris Dance Group and together stage a whimsical vaudeville show. The singers dance a little, and the dancers sing a little, and the whole thing culminates in a grand finale with tumbling and juggling. “It’s about love, in every form — love of each other, love of your home, love of nature,” Mr. Morris said. “It’s very funny, very sexy. But it’s not maudlin in any way.”

Mr. Morris recalled hearing Purcell’s music as a child, and throughout the years has repeatedly turned to Baroque compositions for his choreography. He is also no stranger to operatic productions; Mr. Morris has directed Rameau’s “Platée,” Gluck’s “Orfeo ed Euridice,” and Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” among others. And the choreographer’s musical proclivities have also led him to conduct; last month he conducted “Dido and Aeneas” while his company was on tour in Virginia. “It’s scary, but I hope to do more of it,” he said of conducting.

Although Mr. Morris first played around with “King Arthur” almost a decade ago, instability at the English National Opera led him to abandon the project again and again. It was only upon his most recent and final attack on the material — when working with a well-known entourage that included Adrianne Lobel for sets, James Ingalls for lighting, and Isaac Mizrahi for costume design — that he decided to totally drop Dryden’s text. For audiences who cling tightly to a discernible Arthur, Oswald, Emmeline, et al., this may well be unforgivable. But for those willing to be carried along by the joyous spirit of Mr. Morris’s inventions, it promises to please.

“It’s a celebration of theater, music, love,” Mr. Morris said. “What else could you want?”

Starting March 5, New York State Theater, Lincoln Center, 212-721-6500.