Dido and Aeneas review – Young Welsh talent shines at Purcell | Opera

Mid Wales Opera presents its productions at OpenStages with a positive missionary zeal, nurturing its local communities and emerging singing talent. They get full marks – if not full five stars – for this theatrical rendition of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, achieved remarkably well in one intense week of work. Given the way the composer designed his 1689 opera for the ladies of Josias Priest’s boarding school in Chelsea, it was an entirely appropriate choice.

A motley crew of amateurs formed a chorus variously depicting Carthaginian courtiers, wizards’ followers, and sailors. Well learned in their distinctive physical gestures and movements, and with vocals that similarly ranged from energetically loud to mournfully solemn, they gave it their all. The greatest vocal polish came from the young actors, some of whom had already embarked on singing careers, all of whom were handled with great care by conductor Jonathan Lyness, particularly in his accompaniment of their deliveries.

Director Richard Studer was also the designer of the very simple but highly effective set: against a backdrop at the west end of the cathedral, an uncomplicated metal structure formed a central transept raised on a raised platform, elegantly framing the work. The chorus, dressed in black, wore the quirky addition of a pale gold patch on their left cheekbone, while the titular pair of Queen Dido and Aeneas, in prominent white, had more elaborate gold facial adornments befitting their royal and heroic status. Dido’s maids wore burgundy. They scattered the petals like drops of blood, and then the color was echoed in the long length of velvet that became a river of blood, finally wrapping around the dying Dido.

Dido’s tragic death is implied from her first aria, and Cathy Macaulay’s beautiful sway and focused soprano also carried an air of vulnerability from the beginning. Dido’s reluctance to accept encouragement to marry Aeneas from her chief maid, Belinda (voiced by Allo Grogg-Evans), is underscored; The potential happiness is thwarted by the evil sorceress and her witches, who are intent on tricking Aeneas into ensuring the ultimate destruction of Carthage. The inexorable progression towards Dido’s final aria, When I’m Lying on the Ground, which makes Purcell’s ending so poignant, brings the tragedy full circle.

Although it is heartbreaking, it is merciful to reflect that librettist Nahum Tate – who gave a happy ending to Shakespeare’s King Lear – did not intervene here, perhaps at Purcell’s request. With the plaintive tread of the earthy bass underpinning the words, each of Dido’s repeated sayings of “Remember me!” It seemed more urgent than ever. The MWO string band echoed the mood of lament. The deafening silence at the end said it all.