Dido and Aeneas

"Hickox's is a sensitive, straight performance of the opera, enlivened by the film production and settings but for all that on the sober side".

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"It is a singularly thought-provoking take on Purcell's famous piece ... The orchestra, using period instruments, is wonderfully polished throughout, making the pointed dances a particular delight ... Cécile Roussat and Julien Lubek have done a sterling, hyper-imaginative job of direction, choreography, sets and costumes. The stage deliberately seems to invoke the mythic, a magical time before ours ... This is altogether a most fascinating DVD, superbly performed".

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"This would not be the first choice of many lovers of one of Purcell's most enduring and profound works. The staging and acting are at times somewhat arch and self-conscious. Because Purcell's Prologue is lost, stage director Deborah Warner decided to transplant poems by Eliot, Yeats and Ted Hughes Ovid translations. These are spoken by Fiona Shaw - indeed somewhat overacted ... However, the singing is distinguished and touching. Maltman's Aeneas is direct and convincing. Ernman's Dido is fluid, true and not over-strained. Similarly, the singing and playing of Les Arts Florissants are appropriately trenchant while being warm and colourful".

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"Deborah Warner's production of Dido and Aeneas has taken a long time to reach us. It was filmed in December 2008 at the Opéra Comique in Paris, and the production was much admired when it was new. It has by and large been worth the wait ... Indeed the musical side of things is a real strength here. Christopher's Maltman's Aeneas is firm of voice, although his character is not so firm of purpose and the baritone does not try to make him more sympathetic than the tale justifies. He gets this just right in his stage manner, and sings as well as anyone has in the role I think. Dido is Swedish mezzo-soprano Malena Ernman, who a year after this film was made was singing in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest, though her daughter Greta Thunberg was still unknown to the world. Ernman is excellent in this moving role, which is so central to the success of any production ... Ultimately I found the intimate scale and staging of this Naxos account more interesting and Ernman's performance even more moving, so this is certainly my recommended version now".

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"Has some great things going for it. The almost minimalist sets by Hildegard Bechtler have an asceticism about them that superbly mirror the opera's content ... Christopher Hogwood lead the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment with spring and energy, although he is highly sensitive in the introspective, tender and tragic moments ... The two leading women are sensational".

"This performance is a timely reminder that the late Richard Hickox was a fine Purcellian ... Most regrettable is the uneven casting: Karl Daymond looks the part of the wandering Trojan Aeneas, but his quivering baritone lags behind the beat ... All in all, a mixed bag musically, but an enjoyable interpretation to watch".

"A strongly convincing and stylish performance from the cast led by the dark but clear voiced Vivica Genaux as a handsome, vulnerable Dido ... Ana Quintans's Belinda offers bright support, providing, as she should, much of the work's forward energy ... Sensual richness is also the main virtue of the production".

"She [Malena Ernman] doesn't just look the part, she personifies it body, soul and voice ... Truly this feels like one of the most moving denouements int eh operatioc repertoire. Dido and Aeneas has come of age".

"This production probes the inherent darkness right from the outset, using light touches and almost pantomimic comedy to throw the advancing tragedy into sharp relief ... Christie creates a vibrant space where Christopher Maltman's princely yet complex Aeneas can shine, and where Malena Ernman's vulnerable Dido can explore her manifold insecurities".

Vurdering (performance): 4/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 3/5.

"Die einzige, kurze, aber echte, 1689 uraufgeführte englischer Oper Henry Purcells "Dido and Aeneas". Hier freilich hat die Veröffentlichung einer 2006 herausgekommenen, zwei Jahre später aufgezeichneten, aufgeräumt-abstrakten inszenierung von Deborah Warner extrem lange gedauert. Aber gut, dass sie jetzt vorliegt ... mit der zupackenden Malena Ernman (Dido), dem einmalmehr viril noblen Christopher Maltman (Aenea), der weichen Judith van Wanroij (Belinda) und der grellen Hillary Summers (Sorceress), eine ideal vokalunterscheidende Sängerbesetzung ... Dafür kann man dann auch gern mal 14 Jahre warten".

"She [Malena Ernman] doesn't just look the part, she personifies it body, soul and voice ... Truly this feels like one of the most moving denouements int eh operatioc repertoire. Dido and Aeneas has come of age".

"This production probes the inherent darkness right from the outset, using light touches and almost pantomimic comedy to throw the advancing tragedy into sharp relief ... Christie creates a vibrant space where Christopher Maltman's princely yet complex Aeneas can shine, and where Malena Ernman's vulnerable Dido can explore her manifold insecurities".

Vurdering (performance): 4/5.

Vurdering (picture & sound): 3/5.