Pinchgut Opera presents Dido and Aeneas by Purcell | City Recital Hall

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DIDO

AND

AENEAS

BY PURCELL

Prologue written by Kate Mulvany

DUTY - PASSION - FATE

Acclaimed for its insightful and unique interpretations of the lesser-known works from the Baroque period, Pinchgut Opera also relishes the opportunity to put its signature stamp on one of the best-known operas in the repertory.

Dido and Aeneas is the perfect operatic gem. Few stories capture the essence of tragic love, heroism and destiny as intensely as the tale of the Trojan hero Aeneas and the noble Queen Dido, the founder of Carthage.

It is this star-crossed love story, laden with the tumultuous interplay of duty, passion and fate, that Purcell, a master of music for the theatre, chose as the subject of his only true opera.

Australian star soprano Valda Wilson (Theodora, 2016) returns to Pinchgut in her role debut as Dido, with acclaimed baritone David Greco as Aeneas. Joining them is Kanen Breen (Ormindo, 2009; Platée, 2021) inhabiting the snarling malice of the Sorceress, and the ever-eloquent Sara Macliver (The Fairy Queen, 2003; Orfeo, 2004; Bajazet, 2015) as Belinda.

Dido and Aeneas features some of the most beautiful Baroque music of all time, including the final lament of Dido, darkly brooding and famously tragic, which was aptly featured in the final season of the HBO smash-hit series The White Lotus.

**Musically resplendent and thrillingly fierce, Pinchgut’s presentation of Dido and Aeneas is not to be missed.**

DIDO'S LOST PROLOGUE

**Much of the music of Dido and Aeneas is missing … the entire prologue and many dances were cut from later sources.**

In the spirit of providing a backstory and context, award-winning playwright and renowned Australian actor Kate Mulvany is writing us a new spoken-word prologue that helps us freshly understand Purcell’s original setting.

Artistic Director Erin Helyard is also replacing many of the lost dances with other Purcell works.

Special thanks to Margie Seale, David Hardy and Jenny Boddington for their generous support in sponsoring the new prologue, written by Kate Mulvany.

LISTEN TO "WHEN I AM LAID IN EARTH" - DIDO'S LAMENT

Dido and Aeneas (1688)

by

HENRY PURCELL

Libretto - Nahum Tate

Sung in English with surtitles

70 minutes no interval

Based on Virgil’s epic poem, ‘The Aeneid’

The first true English opera

Key Aria: Dido's lament

CITY RECITAL HALL, Sydney

Sung in English with surtitles
80 minutes no interval

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PHOTO GALLERY

photos by Cassandra Hannagan

Kanen Breen as the Sorceress, Dido and Aeneas Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

Valda Wilson as Dido in Dido and Aeneas, Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

David Greco as Aeneas in Dido and Aeneas, Pinhcgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

Sara Macliver as Belinda in Dido and Aeneas, Pinhcgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

Sailors chorus Dido and Aeneas, Andrew O'Connor, Jack Jordan, Louis Hurley, Freddy Shaw, photo Cassandra Hanngan

Olivia Payne and Kanen Breen in Dido and Aeneas, photo Cassandra Hanngan

The cast of Dido and Aeneas, Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

Ensemble Dido and Aeneas, Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

Simon Martyn-Ellis and Orchestra of the Antipodes, Dido and Aeneas, Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

Sara Macliver and Valda Wilson in Dido and Aeneas, Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hanngan

Valda Wilson and David Greco, Dido and Aeneas, Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hannagan

Kanen Breen and Valda Wilson, Dido and Aeneas, Pinchgut Opera, photo Cassandra Hanngan

Get up close with the cast and creatives in this behind the scenes video

Artists

CANTILLATION

Chorus

ORCHESTRA OF THE ANTIPODES

Creatives

Henry Purcell

(1659-1695)

Purcell was born into a family of court musicians the year before Charles II was invited to restore the monarchy. The Restoration was a time of new theatres, a new court orchestra and a new Chapel Royal with the brightest crop of new boys ever known: John Blow, Pelham Humfrey, Michael Wise and Purcell. Their teacher was the kindly Captain Cooke and, outside the Chapel, Purcell came under the influence of the worldly and slightly mad Matthew Locke who introduced him to the delights of the theatre and prepared him for the realities of working as a musician in London.

We acknowledge the traditional owners of the land on which we work and perform, the Gadigal people of the Eora nation – the first storytellers and singers of songs.
We pay our respects to their elders past and present.

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