What: Ball State Opera Theatre presents “Dido and Aeneas” and “Orfeo ed Euridice”
When: Dec. 3 and 5 at 7:30pm
Cost: General admission-$15; Students- $5 in advance w/ ID at Emens Box Office, $8 at door
Where: Pruis Hall
Vocal performance students are tackling a different sort of musical style at this semester's Ball State Opera Theatre event.
The students are presenting what director John Truit called "two of operas earliest masterpieces": "Dido and Aeneas" and "Orfeo ed Euridice."
In “Dido and Aeneas,” Queen Dido of Carthage takes a risk and falls in love with the Trojan King Aeneas — producing dire consequences.
Although hesitant, Dido is guided by her best friend Belinda, played by junior vocal performance major Rachel Weinfeld. Belinda attempts to reach her friend and convince her that falling in love with Aeneas is a good thing.
“Belinda ultimately does get through to Dido, which makes the ending that much more tragic for Belinda because she feels like Dido’s heartbreak is all her fault,” she said.
The actors grappled with connecting to the artistic material because Baroque style music and an ancient story “can seem so dated and distant,” Weinfeld said.
“In terms of the story, I had to break it down," Weinfeld said. "Instead of seeing it as this distant, mythical tale, I broke it down to see every character as a real person facing a real problem. Every basic feeling these characters are experiencing is something that we still experience today — there’s just also some witchery and divine intervention.”
The show’s ending and final message is a little different from most stories about love and far from fairytale-like.
“I would love to say that the show’s message is love conquers all or something nice and uplifting like that, but at the end of the day, evil wins in this show," Weinfeld said. "Evil gets anything and everything it wanted, and everyone else is left to suffer the consequences.”
In “Orfeo ed Euridice,” the second performance of the evening, Orfeo, the husband of Euridice, is devoted and determined, said senior voice performance major Jeffrey Hunnicutt, who is playing the title character in this production. It’s his first leading role with Ball State Opera Theatre.
Devotion and determination are especially important since the show opens with Euridice’s funeral, where Orfeo is “completely distraught.”
He travels through the underworld in order to find and rescue his beloved. It’s a “pretty tough ordeal,” Hunnicutt said.
Despite this otherworldly quest, Hunnicutt said his character is “very relatable” because everyone can relate to love and loss.
"I think the way [composer Christoph Willibald] Gluck uses these powerful archetypes makes the show really special and personal,” he said.
Overall, Hunnicutt described this show as one of hope.
“Orfeo and Euridice’s experience shows that, even in our darkest times, there is still hope to help us keep going,” he said.
The performers said they believe most students have not attended an operatic performance before, and they encourage them to take this production as an opportunity.
“Opera isn’t exactly something most college students are jumping out of their seats to come see, but I would love to encourage every student to attend if only to experience something they probably never have before,” Weinfeld said. “This timeless music and story have lasted so long, and it’s worth coming to see why.”
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