Dido and Aeneas

91探花 Voice Performance majors present this 17th-century English opera based on a fragment of the "Aeneid," a Latin epic written by the poet Virgil.

The tragic tale of the affair between the queen of Carthage and her lover, the prince of Troy, is centered on themes of love, duty, power, and destiny. Still widely performed – over 300 years since its premiere – the opera owes its long-time success in part to its reputation for being an accessible work for young performers, its recurrent use as a textbook example of Baroque musical forms, and its timeless themes.

Dido, the widowed Queen of Carthage, entertains the Trojan Prince Aeneas, shipwrecked on his way to Italy, where he will found a new Troy. Dido and Aeneas are in love. Witches plot Dido’s destruction, and the Sorceress conjures a storm to break out when the royal couple are hunting, and the impersonation of Mercury by one of her coven. The storm duly breaks, and the courtiers hasten back to town, while the false Mercury tells Aeneas he must leave Dido and sail for Italy. Aeneas and his sailors prepare to leave, to the delight of the witches. Aeneas parts from Dido, who kills herself once he has gone, her death lamented by mourning cupids. — Synopsis courtesy of Opera Manitoba and Naxos Records

Performance Schedule

Thursday-Friday, October 9-10, 7 p.m.
Saturday, October 11, 3 p.m. & 7 p.m.