Dido and Aeneas

Whatever way I dress it up the truth is : I am not an opera fan. Yet I must admit my interest was piqued way back at the beginning of the year when I read about Dido and Aeneas which promised to be way more than just an opera with the show to contain elements of jazz, tango and gypsy music, not to mention the gothic-punk costumes worn by the multi-instrumentalist quartet who add a large dollop of alternative to the fray.
Sadly I didn’t take a chance on the show and had to put up with the subsequent exclamations of “OMG it was amazing”, “Did you go? You didn’t go? You should have gone!”. The lip took a ferocious biting that week believe-you-me.

The good news is, like good old Ebenezer Scrooge, I get a second crack at attending Dido and Aeneas with three performances of the show scheduled in for Thursday, Friday and Saturday (15th-17th September) next week in the Cork Opera House. Ghosts of alternative punk-goth opera you have been very kind to me. All I need to do now is shake off that annoying tiny Tim whinger.

The official blurb :

“Sex. Death. Royalty. Strap-on Cellos. And very, very big hair. Cork never had an opera like ‘Dido and Aeneas’ before.

A seventeenth century Baroque masterpiece, daringly reimagined by a local young composer and brought to life by a fearless cast of singers and musicians, including world-class Cork sopranos, the hour-long opera thrilled audiences and reviewers alike.”

“If you’ve never been to an opera, this production of Dido and Aeneas is a good place to start…magical.”
Irish Examiner

“…under this galactic dance the dishevelled opulence of the costumes, the lighting by Michael Hurley and the musical and vocal bravura ensure that like Dido, this production will not be forgotten.”
Irish Times

Tickets are priced at a very affordable €20 and can be purchased directly from the Cork Opera House box office or below from the official website.

corkoperahouse.ie/events/dido-and-aeneas