OperX presents “Dido & Aeneas” and “Set the Scenes" at Augustana College -- April 19 through 21 (photo of OperX's "Amahl & the Night Visitors from 2023)
Dido & Aeneas: Friday, April 19, 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, April 21, 1:30 p.m.
Set the Scenes, Saturday, April 20, 7:30 p.m.
Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, 3750 Seventh Avenue, Rock Island IL
This spring, the student talents of Augustana College's OperX ensemble will treat audiences to alternating performances of both a full opera and excerpts from the operatic repertoire, with the gifted singers and director Patrick McNally staging composer Henry Purcell's Dido & Aeneas on April 19 and 21, and works by Mozart, Bernstein, Bizet, and Donizett in the vocal revue Set the Scenes on April 20.
The story of Dido & Aeneas is based on Book IV of Virgil's Aeneid, and recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas, as well as the queen's despair when he abandons her. A monumental work in Baroque opera, Dido & Aeneas is remembered as one of Purcell's foremost theatrical works, and was also Purcell's only true opera and only all-sung dramatic work. One of the earliest known English operas, it owes much to John Blow's Venus & Adonis, both in structure and in overall effect, and features a libretto by Nahum Tate.
Included among the casts for the Friday and Sunday performances of Dido & Aeneas are Georgi Feigley as Queen Dido, Jorge Mendez Jr. as Aeneas, Jessica Cotturone as lady-in-waiting Belinda, and Maddy Overstreet as the sorceress who wants to see Carthage destroyed. Additional members of the principal cast include Anya Giordano, Madeline Hutchinson, Jack McCurdy, Jensen Stoneking, and Maya Smith, with the ensemble of Dash Crow, Haley Chellberg, Max De Buys, Sora Richter, Sidney Underwood, and Morgan Wehling portray numerous courtiers, witches, and sailors.
With the Augustana Symphony Orchestra providing live accompaniment, the Dido & Aeneas performances are being conducted by Michelle Crouch, and additional members of the opera's creative team include: technical director Mike Turczynski; costume designer Becki Arnold; lighting designer (and Reader theatre reviewer) Roger Pavey Jr.; prop designer Kaylyn Dix; and makeup designer Ludovica Chiovini.
Saturday's series of operatic pieces Set the Scenes finds 16 student talents performing compositions by some of history's greatest composers, with Dr. Amanda Sherill accompanying the OperX members of piano. The evening's ensemble features: Julian Anderson; Haley Chellberg; Dash Crow; Max De Buys; Anya Giordano; Brennan Hampton; Madeline Hutchinson; Rose Klinger; Emma Miller; Julia Remour; Sora Richter; Keegan Russell; Maya Smith; Jensen Stoneking; Sidney Underwood; and Morgan Wehling.
Dido & Aeneas and Set the Scenes are both under the direction of Augustana's Visiting Assistant Professor of Music, Opera, and Voice Patrick McNally, who was a Hixon-Lied Fellow at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln before joining the faculty at Augustana. Prior to teaching, he was a full-time professional opera singer from 2008 to 2019 and has performed in opera houses throughout the United States, as well as in Germany and Italy. Equally at home in recital, musical theatre, and oratorio, McNally has made a varied career in music, particularly championing world premieres. He can be heard on the Wirripang CD label on The Tangling Project, bringing new works to life, and between performances, McNally can be found directing operas, music directing musicals, and teaching masterclasses in vocal pedagogy, vocal performance, and audition techniques.
With both OperX presentations taking place in Augustana College's Brunner Theatre Center, Dido & Aeneas will be staged on April 19 at 7:30 p.m. and April 21 at 1:30 p.m., with admission $14. Set the Scenes will be performed on April 20 at 7:30 p.m., with admission $10-14. For more information and tickets, call (309)794-7306 and visit Augustana.edu/arts/ticket-office.
