ABOUT THE SHOW

A one-act composed to pair with Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas, the opera & Aeterna tells a new story of the pair’s daughter as she embarks on a quest to find–and kill–the father who abandoned her at birth. & Aeterna combines performance practices of contemporary opera, Early Music, and musical theater to recontextualize Virgil’s Aeneid via the women Aeneas left in his wake.

This concert reading will include excerpts from Dido & Aeneas and the complete score of & Aeterna.

SYNOPSIS

After her mother’s death and father’s abandonment, 16-year-old Aeterna has been raised as Carthage’s new queen by the city’s Goddess protector, Juno. When news finally comes of Aeneas founding Rome, the city destined to one day destroy Carthage, everyone is in uproar. Aeterna, guided by Juno, sets out to avenge her mother and save her home. But Aeterna has spent a lifetime yearning to connect with the parents she has never known, trying to understand her own place in a world of gods and destiny. As Aeterna nears Aeneas on her long, dangerous journey, she must choose: either forgive her father, or kill him. This work grapples with themes of parenthood, legacy, and the costs of becoming “Great.”