Why Opera

Dido & Aeneas Reconstructed is an adapted, rearranged and re-imagined interpretation of Henry Purcell’s is a reconstruction of Henry Purcell’s 1688 opera Dido & Aeneas. 

FORM

  1. Why would you sing something if you could say it?

  2. What can music offer that words alone might not?

  3. What limitations might singing have on the act of performing? 

  4. What other stories and examples can you think of where using music to convey action and meaning heightens and improves the telling of a story?
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TRADITION vs ADAPTATION

  1. Have a look on Youtube for other examples and productions of Dido & Aeneas. (See the examples below.) What differences and similarities are there between the productions, and the show you saw at The Basement? 

  2. Why do you think the creators of the show you saw chose to modernise and adapt the work?

  3. What are some other examples in popular culture of traditional stories being adapted and modernised? Think about movies, books, television shows, and live performance. Do you think those stories have been improved by their modernisation or adaptations? 

PREVIOUS PRODUCTIONS

​Festival d'Aix-en-Provence. 2001 
Moran Singers Ensemble. 2009
Philippe Pierlot. 2006
Ruth Asawa San Francisco School Of The Arts. ​2012