Purcell's opera Dido & Aeneas (1995) was directed by Peter Maniura. It stars Maria Ewing as Dido, and Karl Daymond as Aeneas. Both singers are excellent, and both of them can act.
Purcell's 17th Century style is very different from Donizetti, Verdi, or Puccini. It's wonderful in its own way, but you have to adjust your thinking about how an opera should sound. (Worth the effort--it's great.)
The opera is staged in and around Hampton Court Palace, and there's no end of torches and hunting dogs. Some directors want a stage; director Maniura wanted a castle. Fair enough--Dido was a queen and she would have lived in a castle.
This film is under and hour long, but full of color and excitement. It has a modest IMDb rating of 7.2. I thought that it was better than that, and rated it 9.
Purcell's 17th Century style is very different from Donizetti, Verdi, or Puccini. It's wonderful in its own way, but you have to adjust your thinking about how an opera should sound. (Worth the effort--it's great.)
The opera is staged in and around Hampton Court Palace, and there's no end of torches and hunting dogs. Some directors want a stage; director Maniura wanted a castle. Fair enough--Dido was a queen and she would have lived in a castle.
This film is under and hour long, but full of color and excitement. It has a modest IMDb rating of 7.2. I thought that it was better than that, and rated it 9.