Dido and Aeneas

dido

Spring 2024

In an opera first performed at an English girl’s school in 1689 (and maybe earlier at Charles II’s court), composer Henry Purcell and librettist Nahum Tate retell Virgil’s love story of Dido, queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas. A new prologue by directors Grant Herreid and Toni Dorfman, with music by Purcell and Francesco Cavalli, recounts Aeneas’ escape from the ruins of Troy, the Trojans’ sea voyage across the Mediterranean toward Italy, their shipwreck on the Carthaginian coast, and their gracious, poignant welcome by Dido and her ladies.

 Seventeen undergraduate singers, accompanied by a band of period instruments led by Herreid, bring the extraordinary music of Dido and Aeneas to life.

Production Team:

Artistic Director and Music Director: Grant Herreid

Stage Director: Toni Dorfman

Scenic Designer: Marcelo Martinez Garcia

Costume Designer: Herin Kaputkin

Lighting Designer: David DeCarolis

Projection Designer: Benji Arrigo

Choreographer: Emily Coates

Production Manager: Aubrey Ellis

Assistant Production Manager: Casey Tonies

Technical Director: Tim Clow

Assistant Technical Director: John Simone

Production Stage Manager: Kyle Conn

Assistant Stage Manager: Caroline Saltz

Assistant Stage Manager: Naomi Schwartzburt

Assistant Stage Director: Carson White

Assistant Music Director: Layla Felder

Production Electrician and Programmer: Forrest Hutchison

Properties Manager: Dara Willmarth

Associate Scenic Designer: KIMKIM

Assistant Lighting Designer: Venus Gulbranson

Assistant Costume Designer and Wardrobe Supervisor: Colleen Callahan

Associate Projection Designer: Cate Croghan

Production Video: Duncan Davies

Wardrobe Assistant: Emily Currie

Wardrobe Assistant: Claire Donnellan

Spotlight Operator: Dhruv Bhalla

Spotlight Operator: Will Giffin

Supertitles Designer and Operator: Jessica Sipe

Graphic Designer: Anna Sayer

Cast:

Dido: Mia Rolland

Aeneas: Weston Kerekes

Belinda: Sophie Svorak

Ilioneus: Even Brock

Sorceress: Awuor Onguru

First Witch: Victoria Liando

Second Witch: Ava Gaughan

Elf: Alistair Lam

Second Woman: Sarah Sparling

Second Trojan: Calaway Swanson

Third Woman: Daija Speight

Third Trojan: Logan Foy

Fourth Woman: Alliese Bonner

Fourth Trojan: Rory Latham

Fifth Woman: Ava Estacio-Touhey

Fifth Trojan: Everett Tolbert-Schwartz

Orchestra:

Grant Herried: Director

Baroque Violin

Leah Nelson, concertmaster

Lila Schweinfurth (‘24 Computer Science & Mathmatics)

Alexa May Richards (‘24 Political Science)

Nicholas Cerny (‘24 Chemistry)

Baroque Viola

Jessica Troy

Baroque Cello

Francis Fedora (‘23 Physics & Philosophy)

Joonhee Park (‘25 Computer Science and Econmics)

Viola da gamba

Christina Young (‘24 Mechanical Engineering)

Cat Slowick (‘24 PhD Musicology)

Baroque Flute

Lauren Kim (‘26 Undeclared)

Baroque Oboe, Recorder

Priscilla Herreid

Theorbo/Lute/Baroque Guitar

Dani Zanuttini-Frank (‘23 MM Guitar)

Javier Llaca Ojinaga (‘23 MM Guitar)

Harpsichord/Organ

Henry Burnham (‘24 PhD Music Theory)

Han Cheol Kang (‘24 MM Harpsichord)

Percussion

Grant Herreid

 

Joanna Waley-Cohen generously donated to the Music Department one fo the harpsichords used in this performance.