Dido and Aeneas

21–22 July 2023 Melba Hall

The VOYCE Youth Opera Program re-imagines the potential of opera and music theatre for young, aspiring singers through regular training and a range of performance opportunities.

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→Dido and Aeneas performance program→

Details About The Show Creatives & Cast Ticket Information

In 2023, VOYCE is delighted to present a staging of Henry Purcell’s stunning Dido & Aeneas.

Premiered in 1689, Dido & Aeneas is one of the quintessential baroque operas that include stunning choruses, duos, trios, and of course, the iconic aria When I am Laid in Earth.

This opera recounts the story of Dido, the queen of Carthage who after she loses her husband vows to never marry again until she sees the handsome Aeneas, a hero of the Trojan War, which makes her think otherwise. Belinda, Dido’s sister and attendant suggest to her that uniting their two kingdoms would benefit both.

→Book now→

→Dido and Aeneas performance program→

VOYCE Youth Opera

Dates & Info

Friday 21 July, 7.30 pm

Saturday 22 July 2.00 pm

Language

Sung in English

Duration

52 minutes

Content warning

Non violent revolution leading to the death of a monarch

Book online or there will be a box office open at the venue from 1 hour prior

Venue

Melba Hall
The University of Melbourne
Gate 12, Royal Parade
Parkville

Synopsis

“The narrative of Dido and Aeneas is based mainly on Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid and opens with Dido wrestling with her feelings for Aeneas and her duties as Queen of Carthage. Encouraged by Belinda, Dido accepts Aeneas’s proposal of marriage.The opera’s antagonist is a sorceress, who plots the downfall of Carthage and its monarch. The Sorceress summons a storm to separate the lovers: as Dido leaves to take shelter from the weather, Aeneas is stopped by the Roman messenger god Mercury, who is the Sorceress’s elf in disguise. The false Mercury encourages Aeneas to continue his journey to Italy – which had been interrupted by his being shipwrecked in Carthage – and build a new Troy. Aeneas believes this message from the ‘gods’, much to the Sorceress’s delight, and leaves to prepare his departure. The Sorceress plans to destroy Aeneas on the ocean. Aeneas admits his plan to depart Carthage to Dido, who forces him to leave. Dido sings her last aria and dies from her heartbreak, lighting a funeral pyre for Aeneas to see as he sails way.”

Taken from www.classical-music.com

Victorian Opera Youth Chorus Ensemble

Chorus Ensemble

Conductor Angus Grant
Director Kate Millett
Stage Manager Lucie Sutherland

Dido Kate Pengelly
Aeneas Lucas Calzado-Yubero
Belinda Genevieve Gray
Second Woman Leah Stange
Sorceress Isabella Hincksman
Witch 1 Ruby Streit
Witch 2 Lauren Ryan-Green
Spirit Messenger Tahlia Walker
Sailor Martyn Arends

Chorus

Madison Adams, Zoe Bunny, Oliver Clarke, Lucy Diggerson, Ella Doljanin, James Dong, Xavier Grindlay, Julian Howes, Martha Ickeringill, Caleb Jarcevic, Alexis King, Callum Orr, Alessia Panella, Krysti Phelan, Ellen Reddell, Santrix Redston, Ethan Rowe, Tess Shilson-Josling, Joshua Simos-Garner, Hannah Simos-Garner, Paola Sita, Zara Tonon, Thanh Vu, Eliza Walker, Chris White, Hannah Wolfe.