Dido and Æneas with Il Pomo d’Oro
The Guardian“DiDonato was, as one might expect, magnificent in a role that suits her down to the ground, probing Dido’s desire and anguish with singing of characteristically understated subtlety. An initial darkness in her tone, first heard at the mention of being “pressed with torment”, gradually and almost imperceptibly brightened as Dido’s love for Aeneas (Andrew Staples) grew, only to return at the close with wrenching finality as she greeted death as “a welcome guest”. Equally telling was her fearsome way with the outburst of rage and wounded pride with which she dismisses him, even as she knows that doing so will destroy her.”
“Feb. 8 welcomed a bracing touring attraction, with Maxim Emelyanychev leading his energetic, excellent ensemble Il Pomo d’Oro with their regular collaborator Joyce DiDonato, clearly beloved in Paris. The American mezzo-soprano’s first-ever Dido and Aeneas proved absolutely spellbinding, with ravishing timbre binding Purcell’s unparalleled prosody to commanding, affecting ends.”
“Singing with heart-touching poignancy, Dido/DiDonato held the entire audience, her court, transfixed, an effect intensified by the dimming of the Hall lighting in the chorus’s final commentary – sung with beautiful nuance and oneness by the newly formed Il Pomo d’Oro Chorus – leaving Dido spot-lit centre-stage, alone.”
Opera Today