Review: DIDO AND AENEAS at Plant 4, Bowden

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Tuesday 2nd October 2018.

Based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, Dido and Aeneas is a tragic love story. Purcell's opera is structured as an introduction and three acts, all of which takes just under an hour.

Dido is the warrior Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, Prince of Troy, is a naval officer and a war hero. Dido's sister, Belinda, proposes a marriage between the two to end the end the problems in Carthage and, finally, encouraged by Belinda and the Second Woman, Dido accepts the idea. When Aeneas arrives she is, at first, cold towards him, but eventually softens and agrees to a marriage.

Unbeknownst to them, there is a sorceress who has other plans, the destruction of Carthage and the death of both Dido and Aeneas. She sends a minion, a 'trusted elf', disguised as Mercury, to tell Aeneas that the gods demand that he leave for Italy to build a new Troy. The sorceress and her witches do not appear in the Aeneid, being added for the opera.

The State Opera of South Australia and the director, Nicholas Cannon, have made a bold move by staging this production in Plant 4, a converted industrial building that was once part of the manufacturing site of Clipsal, the electrical component manufacturers. It presented a range of challenges, from less than perfect acoustics to an absence of three-phase power, necessary for the stage lighting.

Dido is sung by soprano, Bethany Hill, whose reputation is growing with every appearance. She gives a richly emotional reading to the role, culminating in a wonderful rendition of When I am laid in earth, better known as Dido's Lament.

Raphael Wong, from Melbourne, sings the role of Aeneas, and we must hope to see more of him in the future. He gives a strong performance, worthy of a Trojan hero.

Belinda is performed by Adelaide expatriate, coloratura soprano, Kate Macfarlane, a Baroque specialist who has been performing extensively in Germany. She gives a most sympathetic performance as Dido's guide and supporter.

Sara Lambert, who has performed interstate and in Europe but is living in Adelaide again, is a regular performer with the touring company, Co-Opera. She filled the small but ever-present role of the Second Woman, Mother with Baby, showing that a smaller role, done well, can be important.

The Sorceress is portrayed by mezzo-soprano, Elizabeth Campbell, who gave another of her most impressive performances. On opening night she even conjured up some unexpected 'special effects'. With Wesley Hiscock's lighting and the conductor, Luke Dolman, and his orchestra depicting a storm that she calls up, the real thing erupted right over the venue, one of the biggest storms in Adelaide for ages.

This, of course, with the noise of heavy rain on the roof, including a leak or two into the space, the lightning flashing, and the occasional peal of thunder, added a further level of challenge, one to which the performers rose splendidly. With voices that can, unaided, be heard over an orchestra, a mere thunderstorm was not going to stop a team of professional opera singers of this calibre, so they carried on regardless, still quite audible at the back of the audience.

Dolman has at his command young performers from the Elder Conservatorium of Music at the University of Adelaide, forming the Elder Conservatorium Chorus and the Elder Conservatorium Orchestra, both groups performing wonderfully and providing an encouraging thought that the future of opera and fine music in Adelaide is assured.

The couple of supporting roles were also well cast and Cannon and his creative team have presented a most worthwhile production that would appeal to all lovers of good music.

The superb raised set and the costumes are designed by Ailsa Paterson and, worth a mention, are the stage managers, Jess Nash, and Ashley Ng who, with their team, have to dismantle the entire set after every performance, for the building to be used for other purposes during the intervening days, then erect it all again, ready for the next performance. That is yet another challenge presented by using untraditional venues.

There are only two more performances, and tickets are selling well, so don't delay.

Photography: Bernard Hull