The baroque opera of Henry Purcell ‘Dido & Aeneas’ has conquered the young audience at the Liceu who has come this Friday to the under35 session, a function only for under 35s with tickets at 30 euros. They have hallucinated with the mix of music “of a medieval vibe”, someone has said, and contemporary dance. Both the members of Les Arts Florissants by William Christiea specialist in ancient music interpreted with historicist criteria, like the Spanish choreographer white li They have appreciated the spectacular and enthusiastic ovation that the public has dedicated to them at the end. The montage, which has garnered mixed reviews elsewhere, has received six minutes of applause.
Some already knew what they were coming to hear, such as a 26-year-old historian who, however, had never been able to see a live Baroque opera. Both he and his companion, a 23-year-old social integrator, have loved the opera-ballet. “It has become short”, said the girl who was elegantly dressed but without going too far. Purcell’s 1689 work concentrates in just over 50 minutes a story of power, love and betrayal from Greco-Roman mythology inspired by the passion between Dido, queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, prince of Troy.
Coughs at the worst time
The only but of the show have been the coughs that sounded precisely in the most divine part of the opera, Dido’s final lament before dying of love, a scene in which the corps de ballet simulated the departure of Aeneas by sea. The water that flooded the stage gave a lot of play to a choreography where, in addition to dancing, the impressive performers skated on any part of their bodies.
“It has been magnificent,” said a 24-year-old from Madrid. “We had planned to come to Barcelona on Saturday but when I saw that there were four tickets left on the Liceu website, I didn’t hesitate and we brought it up.” For her couple, originally from Seattle, ‘Dido & Aeneas’ has been their lyrical debut. “I liked it a lot. It’s been wonderful but when I get home I’ll find out more about the play because I think I’ve missed things,” she acknowledged.
Despite projecting the original version of the text and the subtitles in Catalan on stage, it has been difficult for more than one to read them and enjoy the show at the same time without missing anything. “It has been difficult for me to follow the dialogues and appreciate the dance at the same time,” explained Martina, a pregnant woman in a hopeful green dress who expects to give birth in a month and a half. “We usually attend the Under35 sessions and also the season when there are special prices for young people. This has been our first baroque opera and I didn’t think it was bad, but if I had to choose, I would prefer another style,” she assured.
“I had never seen opera and dance combined. It has been very beautiful”
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The same thought another couple who have not missed any title since they discovered Under35. “I had never seen opera and dance combined. It has been very beautiful,” said a fan who was on the second floor. For him, of everything he has seen at the Liceu up to now, his favorite is ‘Norma’, by Bellini.
The performance lasted just over an hour and a quarter because Christie added a theme as a preamble in which the eight-piece chamber orchestra and choir members shone. These, by the way, interacted with the dancers and with the soloists who were on a pedestal. The dancers were in charge of sliding them across the stage. the mezzo-soprano kathryn lindsey in the role of Dido, the sopano Ana Vieira Leite like Belinda and the baritone Renato Dolcini he assumed that of Aeneas and that of the Sorceress. By the way, he embroidered the scene of the conspiracy against the love of Dido and Aeneas with the rest of the witches played by the choir and the dancers. The metallic and changing tones of the scenery and the sculptural dresses in which the soloists were dressed They were made of a similar material and allowed the protagonists to be hidden without having to remove them from the scene. That was one of the trump cards of the modern and sober scenery of the artist evi keller, a magician of light and matter.