The Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists are set to present a new production of Purcell’s “Dido & Aeneas” beneath the hull of the Cutty Sark in Greenwich this May. Directed by Andrew Staples and conducted by Jonathan Sells, the production places Purcell’s tragic love story within the drydock setting of the world’s last surviving tea clipper. The cast features {…}
A semi-staged concert performance of Henry Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” will be presented on Friday, Jan. 16, 2026 starting at 7:30 p.m. The performance, set to take place at at St. John’s in the Village in New York City, features a cast led by soprano Jaclyn Randazzo in the role of Dido and baritone David Smolokoff as Aeneas. The cast {…}
(Photo: John D Kelly) With its intimate space and reflective ambiance, St Carthage’s Cathedral in Lismore proved to be the ideal venue for the Blackwater Valley Opera Festival’s performance of Purcell’s chamber opera, “Dido and Aeneas.” Seating approximately 350 to 400 people, the cathedral allowed the audience to enjoy a very personal and close-up experience of the composer’s masterpiece. A {…}
The Dutch National Opera is set to perform Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” on tour in concert performances. The company will partner with Opera Zuid and Nederlandse Reisopera and will be touring the Netherlands with a Purcell programme centred around the short opera “Dido and Aeneas.” This music from more than 300 years ago will be interpreted by members of the {…}
(Photo credit: Keith Saunders) The Opera Australia production of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” that opened at the Sydney Opera House on March 13 was the second time in a year that Erin Helyard conducted the work. Previously, Helyard’s own company Pinchgut Opera had presented the work at Angel Place Recital Hall. This time Helyard conducted a co-production between Opera Australia {…}
OperaWire met up with English soprano Charlotte Bowden between performances of Monteverdi’s “Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria” and a double Purcell bill of “Hail! Bright St. Cecilia” and “Dido and Aeneas” at the Ravenna festival, in which she was essaying the roles of Melanto, a solo soprano and Belinda, respectively. Although she only recently graduated from the Royal College {…}
(Photo: Zani-Casadio) Following on from the previous day’s performance of Monteverdi’s “Il Ritorno di Ulisse in Patria,” Ravenna’s Teatro Alighieri continued with a production of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” coupled with “Hail, Bright Cecelia,” presented by the same cast under the musical direction of Ottavio Dantone. The fact that Pier Luigi Pizzi, who had been responsible for the lackluster staging {…}
(Photo Credit: Cassandra Hannagan) Audience-members arriving at Sydney’s Angel Place Recital Hall for Pinchgut Opera’s latest production, Purcell’s opera “Dido and Aeneas,” walked in on a boxed theatrical space in which ensemble-members crossed and re-crossed the stage folding linen. While some audience-members were to be heard wondering what the folding signified, the repeated activity, minutes before the opera started, could {…}
St. Mary’s Abbey of Morristown, New Jersey is joining forces with Somerset Hills Chorus of Music and LOTUS Chorale to present Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas” on May 4, 2024. The opera will star Emily Skilling as Dido with Christopher Herbert as Aeneas. Skilling is the South Carolina District winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions while Herbert is a {…}
The Waterperry Festival has announced its 2023 lineup. The ten-day festival, which runs Aug. 11-20, features something for everyone, from children’s shows to grand operas. Here’s what’s in store for audiences. The festival will unveil a new production of “Carmen,” directed by Anna Morrissey and featuring Samantha Price in the title role, Xavier Hetherington as Don José, Matthew Durkan as {…}
Photo: Pablo Lorente Opéra Royal de Versailles’ “Dido and Aeneas” has, on paper, great musicians, a good stage director, good dancers, and even William Christie. But that was not enough to prevent leaving the theater frustrated. The principal point of frustration came from how poorly conceived the production itself was. This failure is exclusive to good and well-intentioned artists—those from {…}
