Purcell and beyond: Errollyn Wallen’s dramatic new Dido’s Ghost

By David Smythe, 07 June 2021

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“the operas collide at the end with an extraordinary and unexpected twist”

Reviewed at Barbican Hall, London on 6 June 2021

Wallen, Dido's Ghost (World premiere)

Purcell, Dido and Aeneas

Mahogany Opera

John Butt, Conductor, Director

Frederic Wake-Walker, Director

Isabelle Peters, Dido

Matthew Brook, Aeneas

Nardus Williams, Belinda

Allison Cook, Lavinia, Mezzo-soprano

Henry Waddington, Sorcerer

Lucy Goddard, 1st Enchantress

Jessica Leary, 2nd Woman

Judy Louie Brown, 2nd Enchantress

David Lee, Tenor

Dunedin Consort

Unreal city: The Rake's Progress at the Royal Academy of Music

Benjamin Poore, 22nd November

Frederic Wake-Walker's realisation of the Hogarth-inspired opera is visually bracing and assuredly sung.

****1

Juan Diego Flórez charms as Roméo in Florence

Elena Luporini, 3rd May

For the 84th edition of its summer festival, the Teatro del Maggio Musicale Fiorentino presents its first ever production of Gounod's Roméo et Juliette.

***11

A successful, interactive opening of the Donizetti Opera Festival

Laura Servidei, 19th November

Riccardo Frizza conducts Alberto Zedda's critical edition of L’elisir d’amore with a great cast, including tenor star Javier Camarena and a very young, very promising prima donna, Caterina Sala.

****1

Strong cast lifts constrained staging in Glyndebourne's Fidelio

Nick Boston, 16th October

A vast panopticon cages strong musical performances in Wake-Walker's Fidelio at Glyndebourne, with Dorothea Herbert and Adam Smith standing out vocally and emotionally as Leonore and Florestan.

***11

Ariadne in Milan: the director cannot find the thread

Renato Verga, 23rd April

Frederic Wake-Walker sticks to a vapid pop-parody that demeans the intellectual message of Strauss' Ariadne auf Naxos.

***11

Welser-Möst unveils a musically superb Ariadne auf Naxos

Timothy Robson, 13th January

Tamara Wilson was a top-notch Ariadne, supported by a strong cast, including Kate Lindsey as a passionate Composer, a thrilling Zerbinetta by Daniela Fally, and an unbeatable Bacchus in Andreas Schager.

****1

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David Smythe

David the farmer was drawn into music through choirs, orchestras, taking part in and directing 'serious' opera as a student. Passionate about live classical music, particularly chamber opera, unusual pieces and events and giving the next generation the tools to engage with the classical world.

Purcell and beyond: Errollyn Wallen’s dramatic new opera Dido’s Ghost