Dido and Aeneas

(2009)

A contemporary staging of Purcell’s iconic tragic opera with minimalist design and featuring projected shadow dancers, in collaboration with Toronto’s Classical Music Consort.

Taking Dido’s final words – “Remember me, but ah forget my fate” – as a point of departure, the production played with ideas of memory, doubling and shadows. Projected shadows compliment the action on stage, sometimes aligning with and other times diverging from the movements of the singers. In a further play on conventions, the supertitles became a sub-text through the introduction of found phrases, in addition to snatches of the libretto, which adds another layer of storytelling to the piece. First performed at the Winchester Street Theatre in Toronto, August 2009.

“A new level of sophistication for baroque opera in Toronto” – Tamara Bernstein, The Globe and Mail

“The visuals are a constant wonder” – Jon Kaplan, NOW Magazine