World Premiere
Thursday, July 27, 2023 | 8:00 p.m.
SFU Goldcorp Centre for the Arts

The Queen of Carthage is a new collaboration between Early Music Vancouver and re:Naissance Opera, premiering opening night of the 2023 Early Music Vancouver Summer Festival, with Co-presenter SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs. The theme of the festival this year is WOMENinSIGHT – celebrating women composers, librettists, and performers of the past and present.
The Opera
A seamless blend of Baroque and contemporary song and dance, this interdisciplinary performance is a powerful reclamation of the story of Dido, The Queen of Carthage, and her legacy as a political leader, an empire builder and a woman of colour. This operatic performance, created by re:Naissance Opera, features commissioned works by contemporary composers Jessica McMann, Robyn Jacob and Afarin Mansouri, along with those of Baroque composers Henry Purcell and John Dowland. This project places Dido through a prism, in which her story as a multifaceted leader, lover and outcast are shown in their fullness.
Artists
Cecilia Duarte
Marisa Gold
Juolin Lee
Jessica McMann
Robyn Jacob
Afarin Mansouri
Catalina Vicens
Debi Wong
Stephanie Wong
Dido, Soprano
Choreographer and Dancer
Dancer
Composer
Composer
Composer
Music Director
Co-Stage Director
Co-Stage Director
Co-produced by re:Naissance Opera and Early Music Vancouver;
Co-Presented with SFU Woodward’s Cultural Programs.


