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

By Sanne Thierens, 03 April 2014

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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

The triumph of virtue: Rossini’s Cenerentola in Brisbane

Sandra Bowdler, 29th April

Margarita Gritskova leads a fine ensemble performance of Rossini’s most under-appreciated opera by Opera Queensland.

****1

Grigolo shines in a mixed new Roméo et Juliette at the Opera di Roma

Pia Maltri, 28th April

With its 1940s setting, Luca Del Fusco’s direction alienates in a new production of Gounod's Shakespeare-inspired opera.

***11

Romeo Castellucci directs a new Pelléas et Mélisande at La Scala

Laura Servidei, 26th April

The Italian director makes his long-awaited Italian operatic debut at the Teatro alla Scala in a production which perfectly mirrors Debussy’s most enigmatic creation.

****1

Chiaroscuro extinguished: a self-indulgent Poppea in Copenhagen

Mengguang Huang, 26th April

Christoph Marthaler’s staging of Monteverdi’s Poppea for the Royal Danish Opera is a study in boredom.

**111

Wretches like us: the LPO’s concert Wozzeck cuts to the quick

Peter Quantrill, 25th April

Beautifully prepared singing and playing brings out the tender side to Berg's modernist classic as part of the Southbank Centre’s Multitudes festival.

****1

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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.