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Dido and Aeneas is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was composed no later than July 1688, and had been performed at Josias Priest's girls' school in London by the end of 1689. Some scholars argue for a date of composition as early as 1683. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid. It recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, and her despair when he abandons her. A monumental work in Baroque opera, Dido and Aeneas is remembered as one of Purcell's foremost theatrical works. It was also Purcell's only true opera, as well as his only all-sung dramatic work. One of the earliest known English operas, it owes much to John Blow's Venus and Adonis, both in structure and in overall effect.
English Touring Opera (ETO) is an opera company in the United Kingdom founded in 1979 under the name Opera 80 by the then-existing Arts Council of Great Britain. In 1992 the company changed to its present name. Today it is sponsored in part by Arts Council England as well as receiving support from individual and corporate sponsors, plus trusts and foundations. The company aims to bring high quality opera to areas of England that would not otherwise have ready access to such productions. From 2002 its Director was James Conway, who came from the Opera Theatre of Ireland. It was announced in January 2022 that he was stepping down, and his successor was revealed in March 2022 as Robin Norton-Hale.
Danielle de Niese is an Australian-American lyric soprano. After success as a young child in singing competitions in Australia, she moved to the United States where she developed her operatic career. From 2005 she came to widespread public attention with her performances as Cleopatra in Giulio Cesare at Glyndebourne Festival Opera, England.
Dame Sarah Patricia Connolly is an English mezzo-soprano. Although best known for her baroque and classical roles, Connolly has a wide-ranging repertoire which has included works by Wagner as well as various 20th-century composers. She was appointed a Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours and a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire (DBE) in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to music.
The Boston Early Music Festival (BEMF) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, to promote historical music performance. It arranges an annual Boston and New York City concert series, produces opera recordings, and organizes a biennial week-long Festival and Exhibition in Boston.
Boston Baroque is the oldest period instrument orchestra in North America. It was founded in 1973 by the American harpsichordist and conductor, Martin Pearlman, to present concerts of the Baroque and Classical repertoire on period instruments, drawing on the insights of the historical performance movement.
Hilary Summers is a Welsh lyric contralto. She was trained at Reading University, the Royal Academy of Music, and the National Opera Studio in London. She has performed on soundtracks such as The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The Libertine, and The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. She has created roles for composers Péter Eötvös and Elliott Carter, and is known to have a close working relationship with Michael Nyman. She created the leading role of the Art Banker in Nyman's opera Facing Goya. In 2000 she performed the role of Mars in the first modern revival of Giovanni Legrenzi's La divisione del mondo at the Schwetzingen Festival. Her discography includes, for Chandos, Handel's Partenope and Semele. She sang the Sorceress in Dido and Aeneas at the Opéra-Comique.
Norma Burrowes is an Irish coloratura soprano, particularly associated with Handel and Mozart roles.
Rosemary Joshua is a Welsh soprano, particularly known for her performances in Handel's operas.
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The Innsbruck Festival of Early Music is a festival of historically informed performances of music from the late Renaissance, Baroque and early Classical periods which takes place annually in Innsbruck, Austria. It was founded in 1976.
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Le Concert d'Astrée is an instrumental and vocal ensemble dedicated to the performance of Baroque music. It was founded In 2000 by Emmanuelle Haïm, and has been in residence at the Opéra de Lille since 2004 and has established an international reputation for the performance of the 17th and 18th century classical repertoire.
Lawrence Zazzo is an American countertenor. His repertoire includes roles in many Baroque operas and oratorios, as well as works of the 20th century. He lives in England.
Opera Lyrica is an opera company based in Oxford, England, composed of young professionals. It was founded in May 2012 by Paola Cuffolo and Nick Simpson, and was granted charitable status in August 2013 to increase public accessibility to the art form and to provide performance and work experience in staged opera productions for singers, instrumentalists, conductors, directors and technical crew in the early stages of their careers. The company's first two productions were staged in collaboration with St Peter's College Opera at Oxford University.
New Chamber Opera is a professional opera company located in Oxford, United Kingdom. It specialises in the fields of chamber opera and music theatre, and produces rarely performed works from the Baroque era to the present. It is a member of the Opera and Music Theatre Forum. New Chamber Opera has received financial support from the Arts Council of Great Britain and The National Lottery.
Julian Perkins is a British conductor and keyboard player. Shortlisted for the Gramophone Award in 2021, he is Artistic Director of the Portland Baroque Orchestra in the USA. He lives in London, England and is also Founder Director of the early music ensemble Sounds Baroque and Artistic Director of Cambridge Handel Opera Company.
Christian Curnyn is a British conductor, harpsichordist and baroque music specialist.
Opera Factory was an experimental opera ensemble founded by Australian director David Freeman. It operated in Zurich from 1976 to 1995 and in London from 1982 to 1998. In the 1980s when the company worked with the London Sinfonietta, its productions were billed as Opera Factory London Sinfonietta (OFLS). Known for its avant garde and often controversial productions, the company's 1986 Così fan tutte was described by The Guardian's music critic, Andrew Clements as one of the "ten productions that changed British opera".
References
- ↑ "Early Opera Company - Early Opera Company". 21 February 2014.
- ↑ Christiansen, Rupert (29 July 2013). "Acis and Galatea, Early Opera Company, review". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ↑ Christiansen, Rupert (13 January 2012). "Dido and Aeneas, Early Opera Company, Wigmore Hall, review". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ↑ "Semele" . Retrieved 21 May 2019.
- ↑ "Early Opera Company; Joshua Bell, Sam Haywood; Jonathan Biss – review". The Guardian . Retrieved 21 May 2019.
