Read the Dido Newsletters online!
1st - 26. January 2008
2nd - 11. February 2008
3rd - 20. February 2008
4th - 5. March 2008
5th - 13. March 2008
Subscribe to the newsletter - send a note to operatogo@gmail.com

In praise of 'Dido and Aeneas'

We write to you in praise of Dido and Aeneas, an opera performed by Opera To Go with William Todd Hunt conducting the chamber orchestra and Roald Simonson directing the staging.

Last Saturday's performance, lovingly directed and sung, was a feast for the senses and we'd like to recommend it to the community. Ushered into seats on the stage, the overture and lifting curtain brought our gaze out into the auditorium, eyes set on a world of layers. Simonson's unique vision of staging included aisles, rows of seats, alcoves, the stage itself, balconies and a catwalk, all of which was swathed in thumbnails of ancient Italian frescoes. The music of the chamber orchestra was like a gift - to the audience, to the musicians, to the composer and to the conductor himself. It seemed the summation of a process, an exhalation of luxury, a freedom and a release.

After intermission the audience sat in the auditorium and watched a film version of the opera, which was set in and around Juneau (Treadwell Ice Arena, Eagle Beach) and was performed live by the singers and orchestra. At the close, there was a third and final rendition of the opera, recapping the entire story in 10 minutes. This was perhaps the most breathtaking moment of the night, as the couple coalesced in warm, golden light, and the chorus serenaded us all from the back of the auditorium.

Dido and Aeneas will be performed again this weekend on Friday and Saturday evenings at 7:30 p.m. in the JDHS auditorium. More information can be found at www.operatogo.net/dido.html.

Corle LaForce-McPherson and Becca Van De Water

Juneau

The opera takes place after the fall of Troy. Aeneas, Prince of Troy, has left his homeland and is making his way to found Rome. He stops in Carthage and meets the Queen, Dido who is mourning the death of her husband.

Belinda, an attendant of Dido's, tries in vain to pull Dido out of her melancholic state, but to no avail. "Peace and I are strangers grown" Dido sings in her first aria, pondering why she is "press'd with torment not to be confess'd". Belinda knows exactly what is going on – the arrival of the Trojan prince Aeneas has stirred up love in both of their hearts, yet Dido dares not fall. "Cupid only throws the dart that's dreadful to a warriors heart" sings her friends. The two fall madly in love and Aeneas denies his fate to proceed on to Italy to found Rome.

An evil sorceress and a pack of witches see this as an opportunity to finally bring down Dido and lay waste to Carthage. They prepare a spell that is meant to break Dido's heart and then they dance in ecstasy at the thought of causing such mischief.

A lovely day in the country  for Aeneas, Dido and the court is interrupted by an oncoming storm that scatters the party members. Aeneas is then confronted by a spirit in the form of Mercury that chides his stay and urges him by Jove's command to "gain the Hesperian shore, and ruined Troy restore" (that is, go to Italy and found a new Troy that will be Rome). Aeneas knows what this will do to Dido, and with great sorrow, consents. Jubilation from the witches spreads to the sailors in Aeneas' fleet. They leave their lives and loves in Carthage behind -

take a boozy short leave of your nymphs on the shore
and silence their yearning with vows of returning
but never intending to visit them more!

Aeneas tells Dido of his fate decreed by the gods and she is inconsolable. Even after he feels remorse and sings "In spite of Jove's command I'll stay, Offend the gods, and Love obey" Dido wants nothing more from him singing "For 'tis enough, whate'er you now decree, That you had once a thought of leaving me." After he leaves, Dido sings her famous lament, "When I am laid in Earth."

With drooping wings ye Cupids come,
And scatter roses on her tomb.
Soft and gentle as her heart,
Keep here your watch and never part.

Juneau Ticket Prices -
$20 General admission
special deal - $45 for 3 General admission tickets
$15 Senior Citizens and College Students
$5 High School age and younger

Sitka Ticket Prices -
$18 General Admission
$10 Students and Seniors
Free age 10 and younger

Have a look at the program (requires Adobe Acrobat)

Sign up for Amanda Crider's Masterclass!