08/01/15 – Dido & Aeneas/Bluebeard’s Castle – 1PM

LA Opera on air

Dido & Aeneas by Henry Purcell
Libretto by Nahum Tate

Bluebeard’s Castle by Béla Bartók
Libretto by Béla Balázs

Performed in English and Hungarian respectively. The running time is approximately two hours and 35 minutes, including one intermission.

A riveting pairing of one-act masterpieces, written more than two centuries apart, explores the fine line between devotion and obsession. In Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas , a queen falls prey to the machinations of a formidable enemy, losing her heart to a man who abruptly abandons her. In Bartók’s suspenseful orchestral showpieceBluebeard’s Castle, an impulsive young bride turns her back on her family, only to uncover increasingly dark truths about her new husband.

A powerfully theatrical production by Barrie Kosky (director of LA Opera’s recent The Magic Flute) shines new light on the agonizing consequences of unconditional love.

Click here to read the program.

CAST

• Dido

  Paula Murrihy*

• Aeneas

  Liam Bonner

• Belinda (in “Dido and Aeneas”)

  Kateryna Kasper*

• Sorceress (in “Dido and Aeneas”)

  John Holiday*

• Second Lady (in “Dido and Aeneas”)

  Summer Hassan+*

• First Witch (in “Dido and Aeneas”)

  G. Thomas Allen*

• Second Witch (in “Dido and Aeneas”)

  Darryl Taylor*

• Sailor/Spirit (in “Dido and Aeneas”)

  Brenton Ryan+

• Bluebeard

  Robert Hayward*

• Judith (in “Bluebeard’s Castle”)

  Claudia Mahnke*

CREATIVE TEAM

• Conductor

  Steven Sloane

• Director

  Barrie Kosky

• Associate Director

  Ute M. Engelhardt*

• Scenery and Costume Designer

  Katrin Lea Tag*

• Lighting Designer

  Joachim Klein*

• Chorus Director (“Dido and Aeneas”)

  Grant Gershon

* LA Opera debut artist
+ Domingo-Colburn-Stein Young Artist Program member

Photo credits: Craig Matthew/LA Opera