Dido and Aeneas

When most Americans think of opera, they conjure up a stereotype drawn from the characterization of sitcoms and a Bugs Bunny cartoon in which Elmer Fudd sings, “Kill the wabbit!” to the rune of Wagner. In this take on opera, large-breasted women dressed in Viking helmets sing for hours on end about being German, just like a good Romanticist should. The Early Music Society’s production of Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell presents an alternative vision: the opera is short, Baroque and in English. Moreover, stage director John Driscoll ’00 has updated the story to modern times, doing away with traditional costumes and set pieces.

Dido and Aeneas tells the classic story of Dido, queen of Carthage, who loves and is loved by the hero Aeneas. Aeneas is bound for Italy to found Rome, but has stopped in Carthage and finds himself unable to leave Dido. However, an antagonistic sorceress (for reasons the opera never adequately explains), sends a spirit to urge Aeneas to hurry on his journey. Though at the last moment Aeneas decides to defy the gods and stay with Dido, she rejects him for having considered leaving her. She sends him away and prepares to die in despair.

This production tries to move the story away from antiquity, utilizing contemporary costumes. The sailors become navy soldiers and the opening gathering at court becomes a modern cocktail party.

Even though the updates don’t obscure the material, they are largely superfluous. The production never makes clear what the audience is supposed to glean from the modern interpretation. It seems as if the production team simply put the characters in modern clothes rather than formulated a vision of which the clothing forms an integral part.

Despite the seeming lack of motivation for the play’s modern setting, the execution was generally excellent. The singing, in particular, was top notch, in large part because Driscoll and producer Annalise K. Nelson ’02 were not afraid to venture off campus to find talent.

One of the finest of these talents is Jendi Thorday, who plays the queen’s lady-in-waiting, Belinda. In addition to possessing a beautiful voice, she displays the production’s best acting, particularly early on, when she tries to convince the hero and heroine of the other’s affection.

Of performers on campus, Alexander R. Taussig ’05 is the greatest success. As Aeneas, the first-year student meets the vocal challenges of the role. While his acting sometimes degenerates into confused arm-waving, his strong, clear tenor helps carry the production.

The orchestra also acquits itself quite well. Music director Matthew Burt leads an orchestra with the original orchestration and instrumentation. The production is the better for it; as the program explains, the audience hears the music as it was meant to be heard.

While the sound produced occasionally verges on mushiness, it pushes the opera forward without overpowering the singing.

The production’s greatest innovations are in staging and utilization of its space. Performed in the Fogg courtyard, the production has to work with an odd space not designed for traditional performance. The director manages not only to conquer the difficulties of the space, but to use the surroundings to the show’s advantage. When a chorus of demon-like figures accompany the sorceress, they appear through the windows and Roman-style arches on the second and third floors. At times, the actors virtually surround the audience, with singing coming from behind the audience and thunder cracking above it.

Light designer Matthew E. Kutcher ’02 uses simple lighting techniques to full advantage in subtly evoking or suddenly shifting mood.

At a brief 90 minutes, Dido and Aeneas moves briskly and never grates on an audience that may be unaccustomed to opera. In fact, the weakest aspect of the production was the intermission inexplicably added to break up the second act. It interrupted the narrative flow of the opera, pulling one out of a highly effective entertainment.

Still, Dido and Aeneas easily overcomes the few odd choices of its production team and fills the Fogg Courtyard with a top-notch production executed with talent and flair.