Dido and Aeneas

Over the past few weeks, I have been mentioning that I have been working on an opera production. Well this past week, after months of work, the opera was finally put in front of an audience! The Mt. Allison Opera Workshop is an ensemble that puts on a show every year. Both music and non-music students can get involved. Usually, because of our small size, the group just does a show that features scenes from different operas. But this year, we decided to collaborate with the Windsor Theatre and produce a full opera production with full production values.

We performed Henry Purcell's classic Baroque piece, Dido and Aeneas. It is a classic story of love and tragedy in Greek times. Dido (played by my friend Laura) is the queen of Carthage. She has just met the Greek warrior Aeneas (played by yours truly) and the two have fallen in love. However, in the next scene, the Sorceress and her Witches are brewing up a plot to get rid of Dido, whom they hate. To do this, they send the spirit Mercury, who is the messenger of the gods, to summon me. In the next scene, the spirit tells me I must leave Dido to continue on my quest to found Rome. I sing a melodramatic aria and contemplate the age old question of love vs. destiny. In the last scene, I tell Dido I must go, which of course upsets her. In a classic male change of character, I decide that I will defy the gods and stay. At this point though, Dido is so heartbroken that she tells me to go, which I decide to do. As a result, Dido laments about the loss of her true love, and of course dies from the sadness, but does so through a beautfiul aria! So there's the story for you!

The cool thing with the opera is that it incorporates lots of different elements. Firstly, there are all the main characters on stage. We all got really cool costumes, which you can see from the photos here. I got a sweet robe, crown, and lots of shiny things. I also got these boots that laced up my entire leg - they were a pain to put on but looked so cool. Then of course we had full sets and lighting added. On top of this, the opera includes a chorus. To fill these musical numbers, the Elliott Chorale sang them from the balcony of the auditorium. Next there was the baroque orchestra, which consisted of a harpsichord and a full string section! Lastly, the opera also incorporates a few dances. So my friend Hilary and I choreographed these. Since most of the singers are not dancers, we had to keep them simple, but they turned out really well and added a lot to the show.

We did 4 performances over the weekend, and surprisingly had a really good turnout for each one. The response was extremely positive. It certainly was a bigger production than usual, and it really showed.

With the opera now finished, I am moving onto various other projects. I had a long rehearsal last night with my cast for Salad Days, which is the musical I have written. Since it was big rehearsal, I turned it into a potluck. My friend Francesca brought salad-themed cupcakes, and they were amazing! The top was a chocolate bowl filled with green candy stuff that looked like a dressed salad. Underneath was a delicious chocolate cupcake. It was awesome! You can click on the picture to get a better look.

Next week is our reading week, which means no classes! I will be going to NYC for a few days, which is pretty exciting.

If you have any questions about MTA or university stuff, please feel free to email me.

Take care!

Landon

lsbraverman@mta.ca