Dido and Aeneas, opera
by La Folia Austin Baroque
Sep. 12 - Sep. 13, 2015
Saturday-Sunday
La Follia begins its 2015-2016 season in spectacular fashion with a dramatized concert performance of Henry Purcell's operatic masterpiece Dido and Aeneas, with superstar Jennifer Lane in the role of Dido.
Joining Ms. Lane is a stellar cast featuring Brett Barnes as Aeneas, Meredith Ruduski as Belinda, Jenifer Thyssen as the second woman, Nick Zammit as the Spirit, and Jeffrey-Jones Ragona as the Sailor. Add to that a Baroque chorus and the La Follia chamber orchestra, and you have the makings for an operatic feast.
Dido and Aeneas is arguably the first English opera and certainly one of the greatest - as notably acknowledged by Benjamin Britten, who knew a thing or two about English opera. Running only a little over an hour, it nonetheless packs an emotional wallop with nobility, destiny, passion, trickery, betrayal, and (of course) death set to the most beautiful music imaginable.
If you are already an opera fan, then Dido and Aeneas needs no further introduction; you already know you cannot miss it. If you are new to opera, then this is your perfect introduction; it is compact, but intense, with all the elements that make for great opera and great art.
[image: "The Meeting of Dido and Æneas," Nathaniel Dance-Holland, oil on canvas, 1766. Housed in the Tate-Britain collection.}
Dido and Aeneas, opera
by Henry Purcell, Nahum Tate
La Folia Austin Baroque
September 12 - September 13, 2015
First Presbyterian Church, 8001 Mesa Drive, Austin, 78731
Saturday at 8 p.m.; Sunday at 4 p.m.
General admission $30, seniors $25, students $10 (plus service fees) available via
