SC Music Department to Present a Full Opera for the Annual
Kaleidoscope Concert
Winfield, Kan., Oct. 14, 2021 — Southwestern College’s music department
will present, for this year’s Kaleidoscope Concert, Henry Purcell’s three-act
opera “Dido and Aeneas” on Friday, Oct. 29, at 7:30 p.m. at the Richardson
Performing Arts Center. The fully-staged opera will be performed in English
with supertitles and is a collaboration between A Cappella Choir, SC Singers,
and South Kansas Symphony. There is no admission charge and the public is
invited to attend. The concert, which should be around one hour in length, will
also be livestreamed on the college’s performing arts Facebook page.
Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” based on Virgil’s “Aeneid,” tells the
ill-fated story of the Queen of Carthage and the Trojan Prince. Love blossoms
between the two as Dido welcomes the shipwrecked hero on shore. The royal
couple embarks on a hunting trip to celebrate their union but is interrupted by
a heavy storm conjured by the Sorceress and the Witches, who conspire for
Dido’s downfall. As the couple returns, a spirit disguised as Mercury lures the
duty-bound Aeneas to sail to Italy. To the witches’ delight, the prince set
sail to build Rome, leaving the grief-stricken queen to proclaim that now
Aeneas is gone, she must die.
“The SC music department is proud to present one of the most beloved
operas of all time for the 2021 Homecoming Kaleidoscope program,” says Jeremy
Kirk, division chair for performing arts. “The collaborative efforts
among faculty, students, alumni, and community members have been truly
inspiring.”
Amanda Li, music director for the opera and will play the role of Dido,
says that the challenge of performing a full opera is challenging and exciting.
“Following our successful choral ‘OPERAtion’ in the spring
semester, we decided to take up the challenge to perform a full opera for this
year’s Kaleidoscope Concert,” Li says. “The sublime music in ‘Dido and
Aeneas’ provides an excellent vehicle for this heartbreaking tragedy, while the
vocal demands and scale of the opera is uniquely suited to our membership with
SC Singers playing the major roles and A Cappella Choir as the opera chorus. In
any case, what better time than the Halloween weekend to see a coven of witches
casting their spells on stage.”
Director Joshua Robinson has been impressed with how the students have
tackled the challenge of performing this opera.
“The ensemble plays an integral part in the piece and it has been so
rewarding to witness many of our students rising to the challenge in their
first encounter with opera,” Robinson says. “I am very excited to present
this collaboration to the Winfield community.”
Southwestern College senior Maya Damron plays the role of Belinda as well
as being the costume designer.
“I am super excited for this show,” Damron says. “Not only is it my first
opera to perform in, it’s also my first to design for. My design, inspired by
the aesthetics of dark academia, dresses the ensemble in posh attire that masks
their destructive ploy and Dido in a beautiful gown with a crisp and
goddess-like fit, designed and handmade by Jamieson Campo (plays the role of
Sorceress).”
