Stark and grief-stricken: Dido and Aeneas at the Barbican

By Benjamin Poore, 04 October 2018

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“It hurt in all the right places”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 2 October 2018

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas

Works by Purcell

Richard Egarr, Conductor

Thomas Guthrie, Director

Caitlin Hulcup, Dido

Ashley Riches, Aeneas

Rowan Pierce, Belinda

Neal Davies, Sorcerer

Academy of Ancient Music

Choir of the AAM

Triumphant Tavener opens the Edinburgh International Festival

David Smythe, 2nd August

John Tavener's epic, eight-hour all-night vigil opens the festival in monumental style, directed by Thomas Guthrie.

*****

Myth meets Shoreditch: a rewarding Handel double bill

Dominic Lowe, 29th March

Part of this year's London Handel Festival, Apollo e Dafne and The Choice of Hercules are transported to the stage in a captivating production that blends music and dance.

****1

Serenades and larks ascending: Vaughan Williams at Temple Church

Mark Valencia, 7th May

Four excellent soloists played a major part in the evening’s success, marking the 50th anniversary of the Collegium Musicum of London.

***11

Intriguing Schubert, raucous virtuosity: The Alehouse Sessions

David Karlin, 18th November

Raucous banter, musical virtuosity and a plethora of folk styles in the Alehouse Sessions follow Barokksolistene's intriguing take on Schubert's great song cycle.

****1

Vache Baroque opens with a fine Dido and Aeneas

David Karlin, 4th September

Purcell's counterpoint is beautifully sung by a young cast to inaugurate England's latest country house opera venue.

****1

Semele crashes and burns, but Louise Alder soars up at Ally Pally

Mark Pullinger, 2nd May

Rising like a phoenix, the Alexandra Palace Theatre stages its first opera since its reopening after eighty years of slumber.

****1

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Benjamin Poore

Benjamin Poore is a writer and critic. His book on psychoanalysis and literature is forthcoming in 2019. He has previously written about literature and culture for the Independent, the Times Literary Supplement, and Times Higher Education. In his spare time he tries to sing Schubert; he has a very patient teacher.