Palm Beach Opera Presents Sold-Out Performance Of Purcell's DIDO AND AENEAS

Palm Beach Opera presented an exclusive Season Opening Celebration and intimate outdoor performance of Purcell's Baroque gem "Dido and Aeneas" at the Norton Museum Sculpture Garden on Dec. 11.

The event featured exclusive receptions and two ticketing options as part of the company's 60th Anniversary Season Opening Celebration. In addition to attending the opera, guests enjoyed either a three-course seated dinner inside the museum restaurant or a special pre-show cocktail hour outdoors. Following the performance, all guests were welcome to toast PBO's first opera of the season with an intimate post-performance reception offering cocktails and passed desserts.

A first for the company, Palm Beach Opera also commissioned special artwork specifically for "Dido and Aeneas" from local West Palm Beach artist Tracy Guiteau, who attended the event.

"Dido and Aeneas" is the second installment of PBO's new Discovery Series, which showcases opera's hidden gems at various venues across South Florida. In March, Palm Beach Opera premiered the new series with a one-night-only performance of Bellini's "I Capuleti e I Montecchi" at the same location.

The cast included Benenson Young Artists Megan Callahan (Dido), Christopher Humbert, Jr. (Aeneas), Avery Boettcher (Belinda), and Alexandra Razskazoff (2nd Woman), and Apprentice Artists Bergsvein Toverud (Court Singer), Meridian Prall (Sorceress), Maria Vasilevskaya (1st Witch), Megan Graves (2nd Witch), Marissa Moultrie (Spirit), and Steven Ricks (Sailor.) The chorus featured Benenson Young Artists Moisés Salazar and Heeseung Chae, and Apprentice Artists Ian Rucker and Kyle White.