Juilliard Opera Presents Henry Purcell's DIDO AND AENEAS

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts, under the leadership of Artistic Director Brian Zeger, continues its opera season with Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, with additional selections by Purcell. The performances will be directed by Mary Birnbaum and choreographed by Claudia Schreier, and will feature Juilliard singers and period-instrument ensemble Juilliard415 conducted by Avi Stein. They will take place on Wednesday, February 20, and Friday, February 22, 2019, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, February 24, 2019, at 2pm in Juilliard's Rosemary and Meredith Willson Theater.

Henry Purcell based his first opera on the story of Dido, queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, the prince of Troy. The opera was first performed in 1689.

The cast, in order of vocal appearance, includes Shakèd Bar (Dido), Mer Wohlgemuth (Belinda), Kady Evanyshyn (Anna), Dominik Belavy (Aeneas), Shereen Pimentel (First Witch), Chance Jonas-O'Toole (First Sailor), Myka Murphy (Sorceress), Olivia Cosio (Second Witch), and Britt Hewitt (Spirit in form of Mercury).

Scenic design is by Grace Laubacher; costume design is by Oana Botez; lighting design is by Anshuman Bhatia.

Extremely limited tickets are available for $30 ($15 for full-time students with a valid ID) at juilliard.edu/calendar.

This performance is part of Juilliard Opera, a program dedicated to the education and training of future generations of singers. Juilliard Opera is supported by the vision and generous lead funding of the International Foundation for Arts and Culture and its chairman, Dr. Haruhisa Handa.

Juilliard's Ellen and James S. Marcus Institute for Vocal Arts was established in 2010 by the generous support of Ellen and James S. Marcus.

Juilliard's full-scholarship Historical Performance program was established and endowed in 2009 by the generous support of Bruce and Suzie Kovner.