Dido & Aeneas
★★★☆☆ Small but mighty
Edinburgh New Town Church (Venue 111): Sunday 4 Aug 2024
Review by Rebecca Mahar
Fife Opera’s stripped-down production of Henry Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas in the airy stained-glass nave of Edinburgh New Town Church, is small in scale but sacrifices nothing in emotion or vocal quality.
Based on an episode of Virgil’s Aeneid, the opera centres around Dido, queen of Carthage, her cautious love for Trojan Prince Aeneas, and her despair when she believes he has betrayed her. Opera is infamous for packing high-stakes drama into short timescales and Dido & Aeneas achieves this to an extraordinary degree; progressing from uncertainty, to love, through betrayal and to suicide in just over an hour.
Lorna Murray, Amy Wallace and James McIntyre in Fife Opera’s Dido & Aeneas, pictured at St Fillan’s Aberdour. Pic: Susan Crosby.
Amy Wallace shines as Dido with regal grace and poise, her voice effortless and dark without heaviness. Though her technique lifts her voice throughout the church, she is willing to sacrifice the perfection of her sound for emotion at Aeneas’ seeming betrayal. Wallace must also be commended for persevering through a singer’s nightmare, as she was beset by a coughing fit just before Dido’s famous lament, and still managed to deliver a captivating performance.
James McIntyre portrays an earnest and conflicted Aeneas, sincere in Aeneas has no fate but you, but ultimately doomed to poison his relationship with Dido in Yours be the shame, ye Gods. Of particular note is Lorna Murray, whose bright and lovely Belinda encourages, supports and consoles Dido. Alongside Murray, Lauren McKinney sings Second Woman. Although they have distinctive timbres, when they sing together it seems to be with one rich voice.
much cackling and waving of hands
Rosemary Nairne’s direction is simple but effective, with minimal set and props, allowing the singers to take command of the church setting with their performances alone. Such set changes as there are achieved quickly and cutely in character by members of the chorus who step out into roles such as handmaidens and witches. First and Second Witch, portrayed by Catriona Scott and Hanna de Bruin respectively, are particularly adept at this, performing their set duties with much cackling and waving of hands.
A small but mighty chorus supports the production under the musical direction of Derek Clark. Though a bit short on low voices, the choristers provide a sound that does not feel lacking in the church’s open space, and balances well with the small chamber orchestra.
This was the third and final venue of Fife Opera’s short tour of churches, previously stopping at St Fillan’s Aberdour and Falkland Parish Church. The company will be staging Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus at the Adam Smith, Kirkcaldy in November.
Running time: One hour and fifteen minutes (no interval)
Edinburgh New Town Church, 13 George Street EH2 2PA (Venue 111)
Sunday 4 August
One performance only: 2:30pm
Fife Opera facebook: @fifeopera
ENDS
