Dido And Aeneas Analysis
Mark Morris has captured the essence of this quote with his rendition of Dido and Aeneas which was originally written by Henry Purcell in 1688. Mark's version blessed the stage of the Sandler Center on May 13th 2017. Mark chose to simplify the piece by having Stephanie Blythe sing the roles of Dido and the evil sorceress. Twelve members of the Brooklyn-based Mark Morris Dance Group took on multiple characters in this tale of the Carthaginian monarch and her consuming love for the Trojan hero who is journeying to Rome. Aside from the two leads, the dancers are like wandering danseur and ballerinas, breaking the fourth wall as they shape-shift into different parts, Illustrating on what's taking place through movements both majestic and grotesque, and then pulling us in through emotional excitement.
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Mark is able to pull off this simplistic version of Dido and Aeneas to perfection.
He captures the danger of passion and the effect on those who may have the best of intensions. His choice of Stephanie Blythe to sing Dido and Sorceress roles was brilliant. Stephanie's voice was astonishingly impressive. The Lead dancer for Dido and Sorceress were a beautiful statuesque woman. Her long, kinky hair was pinned up for Dido, the undisciplined locks down in her face for the Sorceress. Making the switch between characters seem real. The conflict that Aeneas struggles with in trying to obey the gods is truly expressed in the art of dance and rhythmic movement. Jennifer Modenessi said this in a review of the remarkable show: "A pair of lovers. An evil sorceress. A doomed affair. The plot of Henry Purcell’s 1689 opera “Dido and Aeneas” is classic stuff.
And when acclaimed choreographer Mark Morris debuted his minimalist but deeply dramatic dance adaptation of Purcell’s opera with a live orchestra and singers in 1989, critics said he made the tale of the ill-fated Dido, Queen of Carthage, and her lover, the warrior Aeneas, timeless.
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Marks purpose for tackling this piece was to pay tribute to his friends who passed away from AIDS in the early 1980's. The piece was to be portrayed as a solo interpretation. As Mark tried to find a way to express this piece, which was to be performed solely by himself, he came to the conclusion that it could not be done. So he continued with the minimalistic theme but changed it from a solo act to having one dancer play Dido and the sorceress, as well as having two main dancers express his concept with several other dancers helping to enforce his theme. There is no doubt that he is able to achieve his ultimate goal of nailing this piece with his masterful use of creativity as shown in his expressive dance routines.
Mark is able to pull off this simplistic version of Dido and Aeneas to perfection.
He captures the danger of passion and the effect on those who may have the best of intensions. His choice of Stephanie Blythe to sing Dido and Sorceress roles was brilliant. Stephanie's voice was astonishingly impressive. The Lead dancer for Dido and Sorceress were a beautiful statuesque woman. Her long, kinky hair was pinned up for Dido, the undisciplined locks down in her face for the Sorceress. Making the switch between characters seem real. The conflict that Aeneas struggles with in trying to obey the gods is truly expressed in the art of dance and rhythmic movement. Jennifer Modenessi said this in a review of the remarkable show: "A pair of lovers. An evil sorceress. A doomed affair. The plot of Henry Purcell’s 1689 opera “Dido and Aeneas” is classic stuff.
And when acclaimed choreographer Mark Morris debuted his minimalist but deeply dramatic dance adaptation of Purcell’s opera with a live orchestra and singers in 1989, critics said he made the tale of the ill-fated Dido, Queen of Carthage, and her lover, the warrior Aeneas, timeless.
"
Marks purpose for tackling this piece was to pay tribute to his friends who passed away from AIDS in the early 1980's. The piece was to be portrayed as a solo interpretation. As Mark tried to find a way to express this piece, which was to be performed solely by himself, he came to the conclusion that it could not be done. So he continued with the minimalistic theme but changed it from a solo act to having one dancer play Dido and the sorceress, as well as having two main dancers express his concept with several other dancers helping to enforce his theme. There is no doubt that he is able to achieve his ultimate goal of nailing this piece with his masterful use of creativity as shown in his expressive dance routines.