Dido and Aeneas 2007Edinburgh International Festival
Read more about the opera Dido and Aeneas
This was an excellent performance of Purcell's great work. Nicholas McGegan produced what seemed an authentic baroque sound from the SCO. If anything, a performance that bettered Jane Irwin's beautifully delivered Dido was the trenchantly sung Sorceress of Jennifer Johnston. With singers of the quality of Sarah-Jane Davies, Kate Valentine and Roderick Williams, there was a consistently good supporting cast. It was also useful to see students from the ESAMD being given a chance in the short roles.
If Dido must be coupled with another work, the choice needs to be carefully calculated - too great a contrast can be jarring. It seemed fairly clear that the unmemorable frivolity of Salieri's Prima la musica that followed was not the ideal companion. Perhaps it was simply its unfamiliarity that was the problem.
