Never trust a Trojan!

In partnership with Opera Zuid and Nederlandse Reisopera, Dutch National Opera has developed a new concert experience in a Purcell programme centred around his short opera Dido and Aeneas. This music from more than 300 years ago is interpreted by a new generation of opera singers under the leadership of the young Baroque specialist Camille Delaforge.

The Plot: Henry Purcell’s gripping drama, based on Virgil’s The Aeneid, tells the story of the Trojan hero Aeneas and his love affair, thwarted by witchcraft, with the Carthaginian queen Dido. As the sails of the ship carrying Aeneas away from Carthage disappear over the horizon, we hear Dido’s famous lament. ‘Remember me but forget my fate’, she sings while she goes to her death, calling on those around her to remember everything about her except her tragic end. Prior to Dido and Aeneas, Purcell’s ‘When Orpheus sang’ from his now-lost semi-opera The Grove, or Love’s Paradise (1691), is performed by Dutch National Opera Studio alumna Polly Leech. Camille Delaforge has enriched the instrumental interludes in Dido and Aeneas with a variety of dance music, giving the continuo and orchestra ample space to flourish. A model for companies in other countries, the collaboration between Dutch National Opera, Opera Zuid and Nederlandse Reisopera is creating opportunities for new talent to shine in the Netherlands and on the global stage, OperaVision.

Sung in English with subtitles in Dutch and English.

Below is an introduction to this production of Dido and Aeneas by Rosemary Joshua, Head of the Opera Studio. She discusses the casting process and involvement of emerging singers in her production at Dutch National Opera. This opera is brought to Slippedisc readers courtesy of OperaVision.