Spell-binding show speaks to our times
Dido and Aeneas at the wonderfully intimate Ustinov Studio in Bath is opera like you have never seen it.
The production, which continues the acclaimed Deborah Warner season at the Ustinov, is the heart-rending classical tale of Dido and her tragic love for the hero Aeneas.
In a superbly modern version of the 17th century Henry Purcell work, we see the ill fated Dido on stage with bloodstains from her suicide on her white robe from the very beginning.
The story of how Dido, Queen of Carthage, is abandoned by her lover the great Aeneas is one of the most powerful classics from Virgil’s Aeneid.
In the intimate surroundings of the Ustinov we witness the heartbreaking pathos of the great queen with monumental drama and music beautifully sung by New Zealand soprano Madison Nonoa as Dido.
The opera is only one hour long, but the intensity of the music, acting, dance and tragedy is so moving with extraordinary pace and beautifully choreographed.
Soprano Ella Taylor is powerful as Dido’s close confidante Belinda, with bold, enduring voice and stage presence.
The eight strong cast and chorus give such powerful performances at times you feel like there are 100 people on stage, with beautiful accompaniment most notably by musical director Michael Papadopoulos on harpsichord.
Designer Hyemi Shin has created a wonderful stark setting to tell this tragic classic tale, given a new lease of life in this performance with modern costumes in stark black and white and a cave-like stage drawing the audience into the action.
By the time Dido sings Purcell’s most famous aria When I am Laid in Earth at the end of the opera the audience is completely captivated.
This opera directed by Isabelle Kettle has a new relevance for modern audiences, focussing as it does on grief, mourning, death and melancholia. And it reactivates our own experiences of loss and grief in a most intense and moving way, particularly the grief of lost or abandoned love.
We feel Dido’s pain as she mourns for her lover Aeneas forced to leave her after one night of passion.
Dido and Aeneas is a spell-binding performance of Purcell’s famous work based on one of Virgil’s most celebrated classics, and continues the hugely acclaimed Deborah Warner season at the Ustinov Studio.
The one hour opera continues at the Ustinov Studio until Saturday, November 5.