In Performance: Dido & Aeneas by Sasha Waltz (Berlin, Germany)

Dido & Aeneas by Sasha Waltz
Waldbühne Berlin
August, 27 2011

This special version of Dido & Aeneas was created by Sasha Waltz and Italian conductor Attilio Cremonesi, recreating Purcell’s original idea of a stage work combining music and dance. Together they replaced the lost music of the prologue for the opera with different music by Purcell and added several dances by Purcell to augment the piece which now lasts 100 minutes. In the prologue the dancers of the company swim in a huge full with water aquarium situated center stage.

Opera in three acts and one prologue
Text by Nahum Tate
after the 4th chant by Aeneis by Vergil
Music by Henry Purcell
Choreography by Sasha Waltz

Choreography
Direction
Sasha Waltz

Musical direction
Reconstruction
Attilio Cremonesi

Set design
Thomas Schenk
Sasha Waltz

Costumes
Christine Birkle

Light
Thilo Reuther

Dido
Aurore Ugolin (Song)
Clémentine Deluy (Dance)
Michal Mualem (Dance)

Aeneas
Reuben Willcox (Song)
Virgis Puodziunas (Dance)

Trainofaeneas
Luc Dunberry (Dance)
Manuel Alfonso Pérez Torres (Dance)

Belinda
Deborah York (Song)
Sasa Queliz (Dance)

Second Woman
Céline Ricci (Song)
Maria Marta Colusi (Dance)

Narrator
Charlotte Engelkes (Dance)

Sorceress
Fabrice Mantegna (Song)
Juan Kruz Diaz de Garaio Esnaola (Dance)
Xuan Shi (Dance)

First witch
A sailor
Eberhard Francesco Lorenz (Song)
Takako Suzuki (Dance)

Second witch
A spirit
Michael Bennett (Song)
Jirí Bartovanec (Dance)

Ascanius
László Sandig (Dance)

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Vocalconsort Berlin
Sasha Waltz & Guests and the Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin in co-production with Staatsoper Unter den Linden Berlin, Grand Théâtre de Luxembourg and Opéra National de Montpellier. Supported by Hauptstadtkulturfonds.

Film Director: Peter Schönhofer
Film Production by ZDF and ARTE

Trailer by Stephan Talneau
(source – Sasha Waltz Website)