(Photo: Noah Shaye)

On June 28, 2025, Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci presented a rare revival of Baldassare Galuppi’s opera “Didone abbandonata” — the 1752 Madrid version. Commissioned by the legendary castrato Farinelli to honor King Ferdinand VI of Spain, this adaptation brought together three giants of the 18th century opera: Farinelli himself, librettist Pietro Metastasio, and composer Galuppi.

More concise and dramatically focused than its earlier 1740s Italian version, the main body of the plot in this specially adapted 1752 Madrid version is faithful to the famous Dido story. Mistaken identities, betrayals, and unrequited love drive the action, culminating in Dido’s public humiliation of Aeneas and her eventual suicide amid a burning city. A final divine intervention by Neptune transforms the ending into a vision of peace and renewal, honoring Spanish royal ideals.

The role of Dido, sung by mezzo-soprano Natalie Pérez, was the evening’s emotional heart. Her warm and solid tone and vivid storytelling breathed life into the queen’s conflicted psyche. Pérez’s entrance aria, “Io son regina, e sono amante,” balanced regal pride and tender vulnerability. In the climactic second-act faux wedding scene, where Dido feigns acceptance of her enemy to humiliate her beloved, Pérez’s nuanced control and explosive power conveyed a raw emotional rupture. Her final aria in Act three, an intensive but radiant farewell, soared as a devastating outcry, anchoring the entire drama’s tragic arc.

Countertenor Federico Fiorio’s portrayal of Aeneas was light and agile. His unspoken farewell in Act one was rendered with poignant fragility opposite Pérez’s Dido. Fiorio’s delicate phrasing and ornamentation captured the hero’s hesitation and restraint. His solemn yet gentle departure aria in the third act revealed a deep tenderness toward Dido. However, his restrained stage presence and comparatively modest heroic vigor meant that the two male antagonists, with their more commanding voices and vivid personalities, occasionally overshadowed him.

Alexandra Tarniceru’s Selene was a study in purity and subtlety. Her first-act aria “Dirò che sei fedele,” a declamatory and emotionally conflicted piece, was filled with layered meaning — outwardly dutiful, yet tinged with concealed longing. Her rejection of Araspe’s advances in the second act was firm yet gentle. Her final act aria “Io d’amore, oh dio!” was like a breath of fresh air, expressing unrealized dreams and sorrow with crystalline clarity.

Tenor Joshua Sanders portrayed both Iarba and Neptune, two roles of striking contrast. Sanders’s commanding stage presence and vocal projection easily penetrated the full orchestral texture, giving him an imposing presence that often eclipsed Aeneas. Iarba’s aria “Non ho pace” was an intense, almost frantic outburst, conveying jealousy and vengeance with raw urgency. Neptune’s stately, expansive tone in the finale embodied divine intervention, extinguishing the city’s flames and symbolizing redemption — a powerful dramatic counterpoint.

Carlotta Colombo’s Araspe, though a secondary role, served as the opera’s moral compass. Her clear, luminous tone and flowing breath control conveyed unselfish sincerity, and her interactions with Selene revealed a quietly dignified strength.

Though having only sung two arias, countertenor Filippo Mineccia’s Osmida cast a long shadow over the drama’s darker undercurrents. His portrayal brimmed with slyness, infusing every phrase with cunning deceit.

Under the baton of Ulises Illán, the ensemble Nereydas delivered this concert version with spontaneous energy. From the opening overture, Galuppi’s masterful interplay of woodwinds and brass captivated audience as an apt prelude to this “gallery of human emotions.” The steady basso continuo lines propelled the narrative with clarity, ensuring vitality. Only the extended series of recitatives in the middle of Act three felt somewhat monochromatic, lacking the dynamic drive necessary to fully support Dido’s tragic climax.

It is worth mentioning that the score was meticulously restored using advanced AI technologies, including Optical Music Recognition and machine learning, which enabled a historically informed and faithful reconstruction of Galuppi’s original music. The fusion of historical sources and AI-driven tools allowed Galuppi’s “Didone abbandonata,” as a “gallery of emotions,” offering insight into the aesthetics embedded within 18th-century court opera. In doing so, it reaffirmed the Musikfestspiele Potsdam Sanssouci’s reputation as a festival uniquely committed to reviving the forgotten gems of the Baroque stage and giving them vivid contemporary resonance.