What happened after Dido died? BarokOpera Amsterdam’s Dido and Aeneas

By Sanne Thierens, 03 April 2014

Loading, please wait...

See full listing

Reviewed at Theater De Meervaart, Amsterdam on 16 March 2014

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas

BarokOpera Amsterdam

Frédérique Chauvet, Conductor

Sybrand van der Werf, Director

Mattijs Hoogendijk, 1st Enchantress

Caroline Cartens, Dido

Wendy Roobol, Belinda

Pieter Hendriks, 2nd Enchantress

Jan Kullmann, Sorceress

Joost van Velzen, Aeneas

BarokOpera Amsterdam premières a hilarious romp through history with Henry Purcell

Kristen Huebner, 6th February

The musical depth of 17th-century English composer Henry Purcell received an overwhelmingly heartfelt and hilarious production from BarokOpera Amsterdam this week. The group has collected a milieu of music from the composer in addition to a colorful commentary on the lives of King William III and Queen Mary to paint an entirely vivid, and candid, picture of history through a modern lens.

****1

Glyndebourne’s first Tosca: vocally strong but imperfect

David Karlin, 21st May

Ted Huffman brings some interesting ideas to his first Glyndebourne production. Excellent singing is let down by indifferent physical acting.

***11

The ears have it: Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas on the Cutty Sark

Mark Valencia, 21st May

Come away fellow sailors, your anchors be weighing! All board the Cutty Sark for a semi-staging of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas with the Monteverdi Choir and English Baroque Soloists.

****1

Anna Netrebko gatecrashes Riccardo Chailly’s La Scala farewell

Laura Servidei, 16th May

Riccardo Chailly’s final new production as artistic director is a celebration of Verdi and of a conductor whose relationship with the Milanese audience has clearly deepened over the years.

*****

The Drover's Wife brings Aboriginal Dreaming to opera audiences

Jeremy Eccles, 16th May

Emerging from different incarnations of Leah Purcell’s play, George Palmer’s opera develops traditional Dreaming elements from Aboriginal mythology, premiering in Brisbane.

****1

Orlando revisited: Olga Neuwirth’s Woolf adaptation comes to Berlin

Elena Luporini, 16th May

The German premiere of Olga Neuwirth’s Orlando at the Komische Oper cements it as a postmodern grand opéra – for better or for worse.

***11

More reviews...

Sanne Thierens

Sanne is passionate about music and theatre and interested in what happens when the two are combined. She studied Liberal Arts and Sciences with majors in Musicology, Theatre & Media Studies and Piano Performance. After completing her degree at University College Roosevelt (Middelburg, The Netherlands), Sanne moved to London where she obtained an MA degree in Musicology from King’s College, University of London.