Academy Of Ancient Music, Christine Rice

The Academy of Ancient Music’s three-year Purcell opera cycle, in co-production with the Barbican, reaches its climax with a semi-staged performance of the greatest English opera of its time.

‘When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create no trouble in thy breast…’

Over 300 years since its premiere, Purcell’s opera still speaks poignantly of love and loss, retelling Virgil’s tragic tale of Queen Dido and Trojan Prince Aeneas in music that moves from the raw emotional power of Dido’s celebrated lament, to catchy sailors’s songs and graceful dances.

Celebrated soprano Christine Rice brings her emotive delivery to Purcell’s most courageous, contemporary heroine. She’s joined by young soprano Rowan Pierce as her faithful handmaiden Belinda.

Following on from the success of The Fairy Queen and King Arthur, AAM’s annual series of staged Purcell performances also offers the chance to hear music from his Dioclesian – the semi-opera that put the young composer on the musical map, stunning London audiences with its deft orchestral writing and sonic spectacle.