Ars Lyrica Houston Presents Purcell's DIDO AND AENEAS in May

Ars Lyrica Houston concludes its 2021-22 season with a fully staged production of Henry Purcell's beloved opera "Dido and Aeneas," with performances on Saturday, May 21st at 7:30 pm and Sunday, May 22nd at 2:30 pm in Zilkha Hall, Hobby Center for the Performing Arts. This production features up-and-coming opera stars, lively dancers from the New York Baroque Dance Company, and the University of Houston Concert Chorale.

"Purcell's operas are akin to Shakespeare's plays, explains stage director and choreographer Catherine Turocy. "They are beautifully structured and deal with questions of love, duty and power. In our production there is also an element of regret and shame as the mourning Queen Dido allows herself to act on feelings of romantic love and becomes vulnerable to the darker forces around her. This cautionary tale is timeless, and I am certain the audience will empathize with this tragic human story."

World-renowned for her reconstructions of the 17th and 18th - century period performances, Turocy leads the critically acclaimed New York Baroque Dance Company. Their sophisticated dancing highlights the emotional trajectory of "Dido and Aeneas" while incorporating historical gestures and steps.

"Our new production of "Dido" is the first in many years to bring to Houston audiences a Baroque opera with careful attention to period stagecraft and dancing," notes Artistic Director Matthew Dirst, who conducts the orchestra. "It should be a feast for the eye as well as the ear."

Four sensational singers appear in leading roles. Abigail Fischer, who plays the title role of Dido, "sings with a passionate restraint that has no equal in her generation," according to the New York Times. Ars Lyrica is delighted to feature Texas-based artists Alexandra Smither and Mark Diamond, both highly accomplished graduates of Rice University's Shepherd School of Music, and Nicholas Garza, graduate of University of Texas at Arlington, who makes his Ars Lyrica debut. The UH Concert Chorale, directed by Betsy Cook Weber, supplies the all-important choral element for this production.

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