11. Feburary 2008

Dear Opera Lovers,

Last week we gave you a little background on what Dido and Æneas is all about. Today I would like to let you know more about just what is going to happen on- and off-stage at the Auditorium!

First, and probably most innovative, is the staging of the opera. Set with modern dress (well, except for a couple of flashy baroque exceptions!) in a rather non-specific time and place, the main body of the evening will have the audience on-stage looking out into the house where the action will take place! This creates a "set" that has nearly one thousand chairs, a couple of windowed rooms, a balcony, lighting positions that you normally never see and loads of space for running around!

The orchestra for Dido is a typical Baroque Opera setup, and we are using more-or-less exactly what Purcell prescribed. He wrote parts for 2 violins, viola, 'cello and basso continuo. The basso continuo (or simply "continuo") is a section of various instruments that add color to the sound, and whose makeup is indeterminate. We are using harpsichord, 2 guitars and organ.

The Amalga Chamber Orchestra's personnel for Dido consists 8 top notch musicians. Each player in this small ensemble is playing a part of their own, not doubled at all, as in larger orchestral playing, and lends the work a chamber music feel.

Our cast includes the talents of Amanda Crider, our guest Mezzo-soprano playing the part of Dido. Amanda hails from New York City and has worked all over the country. She will be available for private instruction as well as a master class or two. We are very pleased to have been able to secure this much sought-after musician for the production, and for the community at large. Please contact Opera to Go at operatogo@gmail.com to express interest in lessons and the master class.

The other members of our cast are:
Tiffany G. Hanson, Wendy Byrnes, Patricia Hull, Maureen Johnson, Therese Thibodeau, Wade Rogers, Brett Crawford, Lisa Miles, Janet Schempf, Eve Dillingham, Bruce Simonson and John Robertson.

The Soloists of the Amalga Chamber Orchestra are:
Steve Tada, Lisa Ibias, Julia Bastuscheck, Catherine Wilkins, John Staub, Sue Kazama, Dan Hopson and Bryan Johnson.

In our next issue, I will give more information on the novel structure of the evening, as well as some in-depth artist portraits!

All the best,
Todd Hunt

P.S. Wondering what is up with that Æ in the title? It is a grapheme that originally represented a ligature of a dipthong in Latin. (This grapheme is now called "ash") For more than you ever wanted to know about it, check out the Wikipedia artice at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%86 ! (or is that Wikipædia?)