Name: Dido and Aeneas
Start: 2011-12-16T00:00:00.000Z
End: 2011-12-17T00:00:00.000Z
Location: National Theatre of Pécs

Organization

Singer

Soprano

Barbara Takács

Dido

Melinda Szente

Tenor

Márton Németh

Aeneas

Beáta Breinich

Belinda

Johanna Németh-Nagy

Mezzo-soprano

Lívia Scheer

First witch

Imai Ayane

Second witch

National Theatre of Pécs

Dido and Aeneas

Pécs

Hungary

Dido and Aeneas Purcell

Public

Approved

Accordionist

Instrumentalist

Archlutenist

Baroque Flutist

Baroque Oboist

Baroque Trumpetist

Bassist

Bassoonist

Cellist

Clarinetist

Contrabassist

Cornettist

Flutist

Guitarist

Harper

Harpsichordist

Hornist

Lutenist

Mandoline Player

Musette de cour Player

Oboist

Organist

Percussionist

Pianist

Recorder Player

Saxophonist

Tenor Violinist

Theorbist

Timpani

Trombonist

Trumpeter

Tuba Player

Vibraphonist

Viola Pomposa Player

Viola da gamba

Viola d’amore Player

Violinist

Violino Piccolo Player

Violist

Actor

Broadcasting

Choir

Choreographer

Chorus Director

Chorus master

Composer

Conductor

Costume designer

Dancer

Dramaturge

Executive producer

Extra

Hairstylist

Illustrator

Librettist

Lighting designer

Makeup artist

Orchestra

Orchestra Operations

Other

Photographer

Poet

Repetiteur

Set designer

Sound designer

Stage Manager

Stage director

Teacher

Translator

Video designer

Vocal coach

Wig & Makeup Designer

Writer

Writing and performance

Contralto

Bass

Countertenor

Bass-baritone

Baritone

Alto

Child vocalist

Continuo

Silent

Spoken

There isn't a person who thinks he's completely deaf and has never listened to this kind of music, but there isn't a hard-hearted, well-rehearsed opera expert who doesn't have tears in his eyes when he hears Dido's farewell. No one can resist this masterpiece who hears it even once. We can confidently say that Dido and Aeneas is the culmination of the first century of opera history. But we can also consider this piece to be a rare, great outpouring of stage music that is now more than four centuries old, and one of the most moving examples of human creativity. In this work, Queen Dido is not a mythological hero, as in many other adaptations of the theme, but a flesh and blood person, woman, girl, or woman, who comes to life every time, to a real, pulsating, feeling, suffering life, as often as those few voices are heard somewhere sound that Purcell, the barely thirty-year-old flamboyant mind entrusted it to its embodiment at all times. Every time you can experience the final pain that is straining in this woman's soul, and that can only be followed by a voluntary, young death. Because Aeneas, Dido's love, the hero of Troy, leaves her, and we listeners, late sympathizers, understand that from the point of view of the suffering heroine, it doesn't matter whether the compelling force was the order of the gods, the machinations of witches, political necessity, or even the subconscious command of men. , which drove Aeneas further. For Dido, found love would have been the most important thing, but it could not be fulfilled, and thus life no longer has any meaning for her. Maybe we are not only crying for Queen Dido with our tears, but also ourselves, in an age that is increasingly losing and forgetting the sublime? Every time you can experience the final pain that is straining in this woman's soul, and that can only be followed by a voluntary, young death. Because Aeneas, Dido's love, the hero of Troy, leaves her, and we listeners, late sympathizers, understand that from the point of view of the suffering heroine, it doesn't matter whether the compelling force was the order of the gods, the machinations of witches, political necessity, or even the subconscious command of men. , which drove Aeneas further. For Dido, found love would have been the most important thing, but it could not be fulfilled, and thus life no longer has any meaning for her. Maybe we are not only crying for Queen Dido with our tears, but also ourselves, in an age that is increasingly losing and forgetting the sublime? Every time you can experience the final pain that is straining in this woman's soul, and that can only be followed by a voluntary, young death. Because Aeneas, Dido's love, the hero of Troy, leaves her, and we listeners, late sympathizers, understand that from the point of view of the suffering heroine, it doesn't matter whether the compelling force was the order of the gods, the machinations of witches, political necessity, or even the subconscious command of men. , which drove Aeneas further. For Dido, found love would have been the most important thing, but it could not be fulfilled, and thus life no longer has any meaning for her. Maybe we are not only crying for Queen Dido with our tears, but also ourselves, in an age that is increasingly losing and forgetting the sublime? Dido's love, the hero of Troy, leaves her, and we listeners, late sympathizers, understand that from the point of view of the suffering heroine, it doesn't matter whether the command of the gods, the machinations of witches, political necessity, or even the subconscious command of men was the compelling force that Aeneas pursued him further. For Dido, found love would have been the most important thing, but it could not be fulfilled, and thus life no longer has any meaning for her. Maybe we are not only crying for Queen Dido with our tears, but also ourselves, in an age that is increasingly losing and forgetting the sublime? Dido's love, the hero of Troy, leaves her, and we listeners, late sympathizers, understand that from the point of view of the suffering heroine, it doesn't matter whether the command of the gods, the machinations of witches, political necessity, or even the subconscious command of men was the compelling force that Aeneas pursued him further. For Dido, found love would have been the most important thing, but it could not be fulfilled, and thus life no longer has any meaning for her. Maybe we are not only crying for Queen Dido with our tears, but also ourselves, in an age that is increasingly losing and forgetting the sublime? or even if it was the subconscious command of his masculinity that was the compelling force that drove Aeneas on. For Dido, found love would have been the most important thing, but it could not be fulfilled, and thus life no longer has any meaning for her. Maybe we are not only crying for Queen Dido with our tears, but also ourselves, in an age that is increasingly losing and forgetting the sublime? or even if it was the subconscious command of his masculinity that was the compelling force that drove Aeneas on. For Dido, found love would have been the most important thing, but it could not be fulfilled, and thus life no longer has any meaning for her. Maybe we are not only crying for Queen Dido with our tears, but also ourselves, in an age that is increasingly losing and forgetting the sublime?  

Henry Purcell (1659-1695), who was already considered the greatest English composer in his own time, lived only 35 years, and only this one piece can be considered an opera in today's sense.
The history of the creation of the work is not exactly known. Above all, the English theater tradition strove for realism, and at the end of the 1600s it did not accept the genre of opera. Musical balls (masques) organized for the entertainment of the rulers could include stage music, and the presence of supernatural forces - fairies, deities - was almost mandatory in the works.

In English practice, the most important stage musical genre is the so-called it was a semi-opera, which is essentially a prose piece with longer or shorter musical inserts.
Purcell himself wrote many semi-operas. However, with his great sense of drama - at least in this one work - he always accompanies heroic, tragic or even comic scenes with music. But from this we can also understand what kind of dramatic intensity the composer was able to mobilize. The probably occasional composition may have originated in 1689, when Josias Priest commissioned a musical stage piece from the librettist Nahum Tate (who at the time was as highly esteemed as a poet as Purcell as a musician) and Purcell for an annual ball at his famous and distinguished boarding school for girls. Some researchers do not rule out the possibility that the art-loving performance could have been merely a renovation of a previously presented work.

The text tells the story of the passionate and tragic love between the Carthaginian queen Dido and Aeneas, who fell in love with the Punic court. The plot in three miniature acts begins in the Carthaginian court. After the song of Belinda, the queen's socialite, we can hear the passionate aria of Dido, who fell in love with Aeneas. However, the happy mood soon ends. In the depths of their cave, evil witches plot their plan against Dido, amid eerie laughter. Then, at the end of an otherwise idyllic hunting scene, a storm separates the lovers. Aeneas, who is left alone, is called by the spirit of the sorceress to return home with a false divine order. In the harbor, the sailors prepare with cheerful songs and dances. Soon we also hear the witches: they celebrate their victory with wild squeals. Aeneas is about to retaliate, but the proud Dido does not forgive. And when her lover leaves her, she dies of pain.
The most famous part of the play is the moving final scene. The farewell of Dido, who is ready to die, unfolds over a recurring bass melody.
Dido and Aeneas received only one performance in the composer's lifetime. Many of the features of the opera can be explained by the needs of the girls' dormitory and the director, dance master Priest. In addition to the English tradition, perhaps this plays a role in the small size of the opera (its performance takes less than an hour). The orchestra does not include a mandatory wind part, which can be obtained from the most modest possible string composition if necessary. In the dance classes (originally there were 17), the students could show off their skills; the roles - apart from Dido - are not too difficult from a vocal technique point of view.

The story of the tragic love between Dido and Aeneas, the Carthaginian queen and the Trojan prince, told by Virgil in Aeneis IV. in his singing, one of his most important materials was the XVII-XVIII. century opera composers. Only Metastasio's text, Didone abbandonata, or "The Abandoned Dido", has been set to music more than forty times.

English

Nincs az a magát a teljesen botfülűnek gondoló, ilyesféle zenét sohasem hallgató ember, de nem létezik az a kérgesszívű, sokat próbált operaszakértő sem, akinek ne gyűlnének könnyek a szemébe Dido búcsújának hallatán. Senki sem tud ellenállni ennek a remekműnek, aki akár egyszer is hallja. Bátran kijelenthetjük a Dido és Aeneas az operatörténet első évszázadának betetőzése. De úgy is tekinthetjük, hogy a napjainkban immár több, mint négy évszázados színpadi zene ritka, nagy kiáradása ez a darab, az emberi alkotóerő egyik legmegrendítőbb példája. Dido királynő ebben a műben nem mitológiai hős, mint a téma sok más feldolgozásában, hanem hús-vér ember, nő, leány, vagy asszony, aki mindannyiszor éltre kel, valóságos, lüktető, érző,  szenvedő életre, ahányszor csak megszólal valahol az a néhány hang, amit Purcell, az alig harminc esztendős lángelme az ő mindenkori megtestesítőjére bízott. Minden alkalommal átélhető az a végső fájdalom, ami e női lélekben feszül, és amit csak az önként, fiatalon vállalt halál követhet. Mert Aeneas, Dido szerelme, Trója hőse elhagyja őt, s mi hallgatók, késői együttérzők megértjük, hogy a szenvedő hősnő szempontjából mindegy, hogy az istenek rendelése, boszorkányok mesterkedése, politikai szükségszerűség, vagy akár a férfiúi tudatalatti parancsa volt-e az  a kényszerítő erő, ami Aeneast tovább űzte. Dido számára a meglelt szerelem lett volna a legfontosabb, de az nem teljesedhetett be, s így már nincs is tovább értelme számára az életnek. Lehet, hogy nemcsak Dido királynőt siratjuk könnyeinkkel, hanem magunkat is, a magasztosságot egyre inkább elvesztő, elfelejtő korban?  

A mindössze 35 esztendőt megért Henry Purcellnek (1659-1695), akit már saját korában a legnagyobb angol komponistaként emlegettek, mindössze ez az egy darabja tekinthető a mai értelemben vett operának.
A mű keletkezésének története nem pontosan ismert. Az angol színházi hagyomány mindenekelőtt valósághűségre törekedett, és az 1600-as évek végén még voltaképp nem fogadta be az opera műfaját. Az uralkodók szórakoztatására rendezett zenés bálokon (masque-okon) szólahatott meg színpadi zene, és szinte kötelező volt a művekben természetfeletti erők – tündérek, istenségek – jelenléte.

Az angol gyakorlatban a legfontosabb színpadi zenés műfaj az ún. semi-opera (fél-opera) volt, amely lényegében prózai darab hosszabb-rövidebb zenés betétekkel.
Purcell maga is sok semi-operát írt. Nagyszerű drámai érzékével azonban - legalább ebben az egy művében - mindvégig zenével  kíséri a hősi, tragikus vagy éppen komikus jeleneteket. De ebből is megértezhetjük, hogy a komponista milyen drámai intenzitás mozgósítására volt képes. A valószínűleg alkalmi kompozíció 1689-ben keletkezhetett, amikor Josias Priest híres és előkelő bentlakásos leányiskolájában évente megrendezésre kerülő bálhoz Nahum Tate librettistától (akit költőként akkoriban éppoly nagyra becsültek, mint Purcellt muzsikusként) és Purcelltől rendelt zenés színpadi művet. Egyes kutatók nem tartják kizártnak, hogy a műkedvelő előadás csupán egy korábban már bemutatott mű felújítása lehetett.

A szövegkönyv Dido karthagói királynő és a pun  udvarba vetődő Aeneas szenvedélyes és tragikus szerelmének történetét dolgozza fel. A három miniatűr felvonásba foglalt cselekmény a karthagói udvarban kezdődik. Belinda, a királynő társalkodónőjének éneke után hallhatjuk az Aeneas iránt szerelemre lobbant Dido szenvedélyes áriáját. A boldog hangulatnak azonban hamar vége szakad. Barlangjuk mélyén gonosz boszorkányok szövik tervüket Dido ellen, hátborzongató kacagás közepette.  Ezután egy különben idilli vadászjelenet végén a kitörő vihar elválasztja egymástól a szerelmeseket. A magára maradó Aeneast a boszorkány-varázslónő szellem képében, hamis isteni paranccsal szólítja fel a hazatérésre.  A kikötőben vidám énekkel és tánccal készülődnek a tengerészek. Nemsokára a boszorkányokat is halljuk: ők vad vijjogással győzelmet ünnepelnek. Aeneas már-már visszakozna, de a büszke Dido nem bocsát meg. És amikor a szerelmese elhagyja, belehal a fájdalomba.
A darab legismertebb része a megrendítő zárójelenet. A halálra kész Dido búcsúja egy újra és újra visszatérő basszusmelódia felett bontakozik ki.
A Dido és Aeneas a zeneszerző életében mindössze egyetlen előadást ért meg. Az opera számos jellegzetessége magyarázható a leánykollégium, illetve az igazgató,  Priest táncmester igényeivel. Az angol hagyomány mellett talán ez játszik szerepet az opera kis terjedelmében (előadása kevesebb, mint egy órát vesz igénybe). A zenekar szükség esetén a lehető legszerényebb vonós összeállításból kihozható, kötelező fúvósszólamot nem tartalmaz. A táncbetétekben (eredetileg 17 volt) a növendékek megcsillogtathatták tudásukat; a szerepek – Didóén kívül – énektechnikai szempontból nem túl nehezek.

Dido és Aeneas, a karthagói királynő és a trójai királyfi tragikus szerelmének története, melyet Vergilius beszél el az Aeneis IV. énekében, egyik legfontosabb alapanyaga volt a XVII—XVIII. századi operaszerzőknek. Csak Metastasio szövegkönyvét, a Didone abbandonatát, vagyis “Az elhagyott Dido”-t több, mint negyvenszer zenésítették meg.

magyar

Dido and Aeneas by Purcell, Sat 17 Dec 2011, From (2011/2011), National Theatre of Pécs, Pécs, Hungary

Performance credits (Cast & Crew )

Cast

Programme, About & Synopsis

Photos

Further reading

Performance Dates & Venues

Venues