[NEohioPAL] CWRU MUSIC DEPT PRESENTS "DIDO & AENEAS" at HARKNESS CHAPEL -- April 3 & 4

[Beverly Simmons]

Dear Friends,

I'm pleased to inform you of an exciting production coming up soon,  
when the CWRU Music Department presents Henry Purcell's highly  
entertaining opera, "Dido & Aeneas," in two free performances at  
Harkness Chapel. Because the dates are imminent, we would be most  
grateful if you would list these events in your program calendars and  
help us spread the word. If you have any questions, or need additional  
information, please contact Adam Evans, CWRU Music Department,  
216-368-2400; axe at case.edu

Thank you!
Sincerely yours,
Beverly Simmons

=============

PRESS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Press Contact:  Adam Evans, 216-368-2400; axe at case.edu


CWRU MUSIC DEPARTMENT PRESENTS PURCELL'S "DIDO & AENEAS" IN TWO FREE  
PERFORMANCES

CLEVELAND—The Case Western Reserve University Department of Music  
presents a semi-staged version of Henry Purcell's famous opera, "Dido  
and Aeneas," on Thursday and Friday, April 3 & 4 at 8 pm in Harkness  
Chapel. The performances, stage-directed by Ellen Hargis and music- 
directed and choreographed by Julie Andrijeski, are free and open to  
the public, although tickets are required.

Based on a story from Virgil's Aeneid, the opera tells of the romance  
between Dido, the Queen of Carthage, and the Trojan refugee Aeneas.  
When he and his crew are shipwrecked in Carthage, he and the queen  
fall in love. However, he is called away to found Rome, and Dido then  
dies of a broken heart. With a cast that includes a scheming sorceress  
and her three conniving witches, as well as dancing sailors and  
courtiers, it's not surprising that this musical drama has remained  
popular since its début in 1689.

Director Ellen Hargis, an internationally-acclaimed baroque singer,  
has been a Kulas Visiting Artist at Case Western Reserve University  
for the past nine years. She has sung baroque opera around the globe  
and attended the recent Grammy Awards, for the Boston Early Music  
Festival's production of Lully's Thésée, nominated for Best Opera  
Recording. Musical direction and original choreography for Dido is by  
Julie Andrijeski, who has earned international renown for her  
virtuosic baroque violin playing and her exquisite baroque dancing.  
Having earned a D.M.A. in Early Music from Case, she is now on the  
university's Music Faculty, directing the Case/CIM Baroque Orchestra  
and teaching courses in performance practice and baroque dance.

Recognizing that the original prologue to the opera has been lost, Ms.  
Hargis has expanded the opera to include a opening set of masques,  
setting the stage dramatically for the action that is to come. Through  
the clever use of other appropriate works by Henry Purcell, the cast  
will introduce the characters and the romance between Dido and Aeneas.  
This will be the world premiere of this new, expanded realization by  
Ms. Hargis.

The all-student cast includes graduate and undergraduate students from  
the Case Early Music program, as well as other students from the Case  
Music department, the Case/CIM Baroque Orchestra, Dr. Andrijeski's  
baroque dance class, and others.

Tickets to the performances are free, but must be obtained in advance  
through the Music Department office (216-368-2400; 201 Haydn Hall,  
11118 Bellflower Road).

Harkness Chapel located at 11200 Bellflower Road. It is wheelchair- 
accessible. For more information, call 216.368.2400.

###


Case Western Reserve University's Early Music Program is one of the  
premiere programs of its type in the world. A signature program of the  
Music Department, its graduates perform in the most highly-regarded  
musical ensembles in the US and Europe (including Sequentia, Chatham  
Baroque, Ciaramella, Piffaro, Apollo's Fire) and teach at the leading  
academic programs throughout the country (including University of  
Southern California . Head of the program, Kulas Professor Ross W.  
Duffin, is joined by assistant professors Peter Bennett and David  
Rothenberg, as well as lecturers Julie Andrijeski and Debra Nagy, and  
Kulas Visiting Artists Ellen Hargis, Greg Ingles, Mitzi Meyerson,  
Nigel North, Scott Metcalf, and Jordi Savall (for 2007-08). To  
compliment the academic program, the Music Department also sponsors  
"Chapel, Court & Countryside: Early Music at Harkness," a concert  
series which presents internationally touring early music artists in  
residency and concert.

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