Sasha Waltz brings a sense of the spectacular to the stage at Sadler’s Wells.
Her adaptation of Purcell's classic opera Dido & Aeneas brings opera and dance together in a stunning work featuring over fifty dancers, singers and musicians. A leading light in German tanztheater, Waltz is celebrated for her striking, visually arresting work, and this production combines highly inventive choreography and vocals with beautiful costumes and sets.
Featuring a vast transparent water tank on stage, the show begins with a splash as the dancers plunge into the tank to perform an exquisite underwater dance.
Purcell's magnificent opera - the oldest known English opera still performed - is unusual for including several dance movements.
Waltz expands upon this, casting both a singer and a dancer in each role, creating unified duets of movement and voice.
The haunting score is performed live by the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin conducted by Attilio Cremonesi, an experienced conductor of Baroque music who, for this work, has replaced the lost music of the prologue with other pieces by Purcell. They are joined, amongst others, by French mezzo-soprano Aurore Ugolin (Dido) and renowned British baritone Reuben Willcox (Aeneas).
This is a truly remarkable and ambitious show, set to be a highlight of 2007.
Supported by the Dido & Aeneas Syndicate
Supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds
