Dido and Aeneas tonight....

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/28/16 at 5:24pm

Anyone else going? I'll be in the Mezz, house right, row B. 

[RippedMan]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 12:09am

Thoughts? Where was this?

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 12:22am

Hated to miss tonight, but looking forward to tomorrow.  

Some nice photos posted on FB and Instagram from the event tonight.  

[NOWaWarning]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 12:59am

I just bought my ticket for tomorrow night on a whim. I can't wait!

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 6:17am

The music was sublime. What a joy --- and a change --- to see something actually good. It was like manna in the desert. And it showed the assembly line of "masterpieces" acclaimed on a daily basis by our esteemed critics for what they really are.

 

The choreography was lovely, as was the conducting.

 

There was also a prologue composed by Michael John LaChiusa, in which we heard references to New Jersey and Donald Trump.  It did itself no favors by being played on the same evening as Purcell.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 7:39am

I actually quite liked the prelude. Though the references are jarring, it served as a nice reminder that this story is timeless and the Fates are always controlling us. 

If God really does exist, He was singing through Kelli O'Hara last night. Her Dido's Lament was ravishing. And Vicki Clark was in her element, clearly having a ball up there. 

[After Eight]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 7:43am

"I actually quite liked the prelude."

 

I actually quite disliked it. Indeed, I actively disliked it.

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 9:26am

I was there as well and was indifferent to the prologue. I'm indifferent to most trying to be cute "turn off your phone" jokes and messages.

Kelli's voice and acting were in SUBLIME form. I was in the Mezz and could still see subtly in emotion in her face and voice. Vicky Clark indeed was having a glorious time from her hilarious opening scene to all the gown twirling, dancing, and physicality of her character.

My only issue is my lack of knowledge of the story so I had a difficult time following what exactly was going on other than "oh she's sad. oh she's in love. oh a crazy lady is making a potion. oh she's sad." I KNOW it's in English, but my ear has a difficult time deciphering words sung in an operatic tone. Again, that's no fault of the sound techs or actors, just my ear.

[WithoutATrace]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 11:30am

"If God really does exist, He was singing through Kelli O'Hara last night."

Absolutely.  I've always been a fan of Kelli, but words truly cannot describe just how incredibly perfect she was last night.  Her voice just gets better and better.  I was completely in awe of her brilliance and I'm glad others felt the same.

As part of an Opera class I took in college in Fall 2002, I had studied Dido and Aeneas and even 14 years later, I recalled a lot of the score.  It was wonderful to be able revisit this piece.  The staging, the costumes and the singers were all fantastic, and for just a two-night concert, a lot of time and effort was certainly put into this.  Not as accessible as other popular operas, it will not be for everybody, but I was truly thrilled to have witnessed this wonderful work last night.

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 12:58pm

Love all those words!!!

[SharpLapel]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 1:17pm

I thought this was a great concert. I love this opera, and have seen it either 3 or 4 times before, so I was pretty well oriented, but I definitely agree that they should have at very least had a decent synopsis in the program and, preferably, titles. With extremely rare exceptions, no one can understand opera as sung, even when it's in your native language.

I'm on the fence about the Prologue, which I found a bit long, but well-intentioned. I don't think it was necessary, or really added that much to the event, but it didn't bug the hell out of me. Yes, a few of the contempo references were more smart-assy than smart.

But the two ladies impressed me very much. Strong on all counts—voice, acting, and movement. The staging started off well and seemed to get even stronger in the second half. Soriano's splashiest gown for the Sorceress was great fun (in the right way, as opposed to some of the Proloque, which seemed fun in the wrong way.)

This was probably my favorite live version I've heard, and that's saying a lot since I wasn't going in expecting them to capture the spirit, vigor, and heartbreak of the piece so well.

 

[bway_fanatic]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 1:30pm

How long was the running time on this?  I'm going to night, but my friends didn't want to go so I need to meet up with them after.  

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 1:31pm

It was a little over 90 minutes

[iAmJanis]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 1:57pm

I know nothing about opera but love this cast. I'm in NY for another week -- should I see this or La Boheme?

I watched a clip of and I'm worried I might need subtitles. (Yes -- English is my native language.)

Any thoughts?

[nasty_khakis]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 2:09pm

I'd definitely see this. Maybe just read a synopsis or two first.

[TheaterGal3]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 2:12pm

iAmJanis said: "I know nothing about opera but love this cast. I'm in NY for another week -- should I see this or La Boheme?

I watched a clip of and I'm worried I might need subtitles. (Yes -- English is my native language.)

Any thoughts?"

If you choose this show, I would read up on it first. I read the synopsis on Wikipedia and Googled the lyrics. Glad I made that choice because I would've been a bit lost at times had I not done that. I don't usually attend operas, but I went to see the show because of Kelli O'Hara and Victoria Clark. I was not let down at all! The singers from Master Voices sounded amazing. The choreography, the music - fantastic. Victoria Clark seemed to really love the role she was playing. She would pull you in and and made it a lot of fun to watch. Kelli's voice was gorgeous and her acting was just as good.

[iAmJanis]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 2:18pm

Smart idea to read the synopses. And I am glad to hear they are costumes and dancing. Amazing what they do for just a two night event. (I guess I'm a bit of a philistine because the ninety-minute running time is also a plus vs. three hours at La Boheme.)

Now I'm really looking forward to it.

Thanks for the comments!

[VintageSnarker]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 3:18pm

I don't know what I was expecting. It wasn't that. Which doesn't mean it was bad exactly. The chorus was fun at first (with the addition of the dancers) but after those opening gags, I thought they lost a lot of steam. I'd just seen Die Entfuhrung Aus Dem Serail the night before so the quasi-operatic singing was not as impressive as it could have been aside from Kelli who was marvelous. It made me wish I'd seen Bridges. I thought a lot of the Christian Siriano gowns were pretty but they were also things I've seen from him before and they didn't work together that well. They didn't seem like they were designed with a costumer's eye to work with the show. I did like the way the red gown and the feathered gown moved on Victoria Clark and Kelli looked gorgeous in the purple. It was a fine show. It seemed very short but this is the first production of Dido and Aeneas I've seen. My biggest issue was that I could not understand a good chunk of the lyrics. All the consonants were lost in a blur of pretty singing. It's been a few years since I read the Aeneid but the plot here made less sense to me. I got the gist of what was happening but lost a lot of details after the first few songs.

[WhizzerMarvin]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 3:27pm

I was there last night too, but a bit under the weather and doped up on Claritin, Robutussin, cough drops- the whole works. If this hadn't been a two night only event I would have just stayed home and rested. 

 

Maybe it was my drugged state of mind, but I really felt like I was hearing the heavenly chorus and Kelli and Victoria were positively ethereal in their roles. In fact, as I meditated on the music I came to the realization that O'Hara is like one of these Greek myths where a goddess comes down to Earth in disguise to interaction with the lowly humans. Maybe Kelli isn't a human...certainly no one should be able to perform live the way she did last night without a little supernatural power on her side. 

 

I enjoyed the prologue and I thought it set up the story well. Clark and company seemed to have a ball of time performing it. 

 

This is must see to catch two of our greatest leading ladies at the height of their powers. 

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 3:42pm

High praise, indeed!

...and, I've thought that of Kelli.  Her performances have the capacity to transport us to another world. 

 

(Hope you're feeling better)

[TooManyLegs]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 4:30pm

I think DIDO AND AENEAS is a great "starter" Baroque opera because it's short and both fun and touching. But it's not BOHEME, if that's what tou're looking for.

If you go, I think you'll be fine just reading a synopsis. The lyrics are fairly repetitive. You just want to have a basic idea what's happening.

[iluvtheatertrash]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 4:46pm

Actually, it was an hour and 15 minutes, including the prologue. And it started a few minutes late.

[Collingswood]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 6:41pm

NY Times Review:

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/30/arts/music/review-kelli-oharas-operatic-turn-in-dido-and-aeneas.html?rref=collection%2Fspotlightcollection%2Fclassical-music-reviews

[PalJoey]

Posted: 4/29/16 at 10:50pm

What a rare opportunity to see something like this staged and performed with so much panache.

Those two women are goddesses.

 

[NYadgal]

Posted: 4/30/16 at 7:20am

Sublime.