Dido and Aeneas
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mac
Dido and Aeneas
21, 22 & 24 Jul 05
Venue: mac
www.macarts.co.uk
Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas was the first English opera, and was based on a text from classical mythology telling the tragic tale of Aeneas’ passionate but doomed relationship with Dido, Queen of Carthage. mac and sampad will create a new version of Purcell’s masterpiece, performed by dancers, singers and musicians in mac’s open air, classically-conceived, Arena theatre.
Inspired by the story-telling dance traditions of South Asia this production will be realised entirely in dance, with the dancers working alongside players and singers delivering a live performance of Purcell’s original score. The choreography, influenced by the strong emotive qualities of Classical Indian bharatanatyam, kathak and folk will be directed by Piali Ray, founder and director of mac-based south Asian arts agency sampad, who has recently finished choreographing the West End production of The Far Pavilions. The Musical Director, Paul Herbert, is head of mac Productions and has over thirty years of experience in creating music and theatre productions.
The opera’s central themes of love, sorcery and fate find a new intercultural expression in this mix of Asian, Classical and English tradition.
