UNO Opera Theatre presented “Dido & Aeneas”, composed by Henry Purcell with libretto by Nahum Tate, on February 16 & 17, 2018.

This story of love and loss is based on Virgil’s Aeneid. Queen Dido of Carthage falls in love with the handsome Prince Aeneas, and her empire hopes this alliance will bring prosperity and security. Things unravel when fate intervenes and calls Aeneas away from Carthage to found the city of Rome.

The production took place at the Strauss Performing Arts Center 105, and brought to life a successful performance of a traditional opera in a non-traditional space. The cast of characters surrounded the audience throughout the performance. Members of the cast included:

Alexandria Nicole Plumb
Melissa Comstock
Brittany Banks
Elijah Brown
Jamie Tran
Christa Goodwin
Hannah Rembert
Bijana Valentino
James Hardin

The Chorus featured some members of the cast in addition to the following students:
Bri Davis, Abby Lewandowski, Marcel Daly, Felicia Ariza, Nora Baker, Paul Behrends, Michael Brown, and Aaron Lawrence.

The Orchestra brought together members from the faculty and student body:
Olga Smola, Jordyn Irlmeier, Aaron Japaar, Kyle Case, Aaron Breid, and Sophia Potter.

The preparation for the Opera took several months and was supported by members of the faculty including collaborative artists Stacie Haneline and John Bennett. Additional collaboration was secured with the UNO Theatre department and members from the community who received the performance with strong enthusiasm and support.

Professor Shelby VanNordstrand, coordinator of voice and opera director at UNO, brought a fresh and creative production, imagining an atypical interpretation of the characters.