DIDO AND AENEAS & FAIRY QUEEN

By Henry Purcell

Peabody Chamber Opera
November 30 & December 1

The light and dark sides of love and longing are juxtaposed and blend together in a new double-bill staging of Purcell’s most famous and powerful vocal music. The immortal Dido and Aeneas depicts in unforgettable melody the opening of the soul to love’s torrent of ecstasy and then ultimate sorrow; while music from his Fairy Queen, combined with many of his most famous compositions, are connected by texts from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream to depict the opposite journey through love from jealousy to joyful celebration.