Performance
Dido and Aeneas
Love, power, manipulation and heartbreak lie at the center of Henry Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas. More than three centuries after its premiere, the opera’s emotional world still feels strikingly familiar.
In this production, the story is placed in a contemporary office meeting room. The mythical elements of the original opera — witches, witchcraft and divine intervention — are reimagined through modern dynamics of power, pressure and collective influence. What once appeared as supernatural manipulation becomes something recognisably human.
Within this environment, the characters navigate a world shaped by hierarchy, expectation and constant observation. Private emotions unfold in a space designed for control and decision-making, where influence spreads quickly and consequences are difficult to escape. Here, influence travels through conversation, pressure and persuasion — forces that prove just as powerful as any spell.
This project is organised by Zaira Nikolakopoulou Papadimitriou as part of the Opera Academy programme at Oslo National Academy of the Arts, in collaboration with Oslo Internasjonale Kvinnekor.
Creative Team
Concept & Stage Direction — Zaira Nikolakopoulou Papadimitriou
Assistant Director — Yiorgis Chronas
Piano — Erik Dippenaar
Choir Director — Linn Andrea Fuglseth
Cast
Dido — Zaira Nikolakopoulou Papadimitriou
Aeneas — Simon Grønås
Belinda — Ida Eid Tunestveit
Sorceress — Yelyzaveta Hai
First Witch — Linnea Edander
Second Witch — Vilde Schwencke Johnsbråten
Second Woman — Zoi Papamalama
Chorus — Oslo Internasjonale Kvinnekor