Dido and
Aeneas, DVD, Opéra
Comique 2008. Production: Deborah Warner. Conductor: William Christie with Les
Arts Florissants. Cast: Malena Ernman (Dido), Christopher Maltman (Aeneas),
Judith van Wanroij (Belinda), Hilary Sumnners (Sorceress).
The first
known performance of Dido and Aeneas took place at a girls´school in London
around 1688. In a superb production combining 17th century with
present day, Deborah Warner takes advantage of this fact in an innovative way
without loosing scope of the story. A production first seen in Vienna in 2005,
later in Amsterdam before being filmed in Paris in 2008.
Not much is
left from Virgil´s poem Aeneid in Purcells version (based on
Marlowe´s The Tragedie of Dido), apart from the frame of Dido and Aeneas love story
including Dido´s death. Is the idea that Aeneas is tricked to leave Dido by
some witches (instead of by the command of Jupiter), perhaps an attempt by
Marlowe and Purcell to make his character less noble?
In this
case, Christopher Maltman is perfect, as his portrayal is sufficiently
ambiguous with more than a hint of uncertainty to give real depth to
Aeneas.
However,
the real highlight in this production, where school-children enter and exit the
stage in various capacities and where past and present is mixed, is the
interaction between Malena Ernman and Christopher Maltman. It simply has to
seen to be believed and they make one of the most moving couples I have yet
seen on DVD. Furthermore, Malena Ernman´s portrayal of Dido is unforgettable
and the images rest with you long times after the DVD is back on the shelf.
Veteran
conductor William Christie never fails with Les Art Florissants in a production of Dido
and Aeneas, which will be hard to surpass.
Dido´s Lament:
The bottom
line (scale of 1-5, 3=average):
Malena
Ernman: 5
Christopher
Maltman: 5
The rest: 5
Deborah
Warner´s staging: 5
William
Christie: 5
Overall
impression: 5
