The Denison Singer's Theatre Workshop will present a fully staged production of Henry Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas" at 8 p.m. on Saturday (April 26) in Burke Recital Hall. The Denison University Orchestra, conducted by Assistant Professor Andrew Carlson, will accompany the group, assisted by Sarah Ramsey, harpsichordist. The concert is free and open to the public.

Based on Virgil's Aeneid, the opera, first performed in 1689, tells the tragic love story of the Trojan prince, Aeneas, and the Queen of Carthage, Dido. Aeneas and the Trojan survivors from the battle at Troy are to be the founders of Rome. On the arduous journey, Dido gives them respite in Carthage from the trials of the Harpies, Scylla and Charybdis. She falls in love with Aeneas, but he must follow the commands of the gods to fulfill his destiny as the founder of Rome and forsakes her, whereupon she kills herself. They briefly meet again in the underworld.

The Singer's Theatre Workshop group is directed by Belinda Andrews-Smith, coordinator of vocal studies in the music department. She earned her bachelor's degree at Bowling Green University and a master's and doctorate at Ohio State, where she appeared in numerous productions of the Ohio State Opera Theatre program. Andrews-Smith appears regularly now with Opera Columbus and the Columbus Light Opera and also has sung with the Vivaldi Traveling Circus, the Trinity Episcopal Church Chamber series and the Welsh Hills Symphony.

Ramsey, a 1961 Denison graduate, plays regularly with the Denison Orchestra and is staff accompanist for Opera Columbus.

Emily Baker '04 plays Dido and Brian Giovanni '05 is Aeneas. Other players and their roles in this production are: Elaine Martin '05, Belinda, a lady in waiting; Jennifer Hart '05, second woman; Morgan Koepke '04, sorceress; Sara Kronour '04, first witch; Tiana Gabriel '03, second witch; Rachel Solomon '06, spirit; Curtis Plowgian '06, first sailor; Steve Norris '03, second sailor; Caitlin McCown '06 and Marten Carlson '06 as narrators. Lis Martinez-Nelson '04 is choreographer and dancer for the production along with dancers Cora Walsh '06, Maggie Hopf '06, Caitlin McCown '06, Mary Sheridan '06, Cate Homlish '06 and Rachel Solomon '06. Members of the chorus are: Michael Goldsberry '06, Scott Rogers '03, Meredith McCoy '03, Lauren Caryer '06, Lindsay Webb '06, Mary Sheridan '06, Cate Homlish '06 and Emily Meagher '06.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

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