Dido and Aeneas in the House of Nobility (Helsinki), the 27th of April, 2018

This year Finnish Baroque Orchestra has in its programme also a baroque opera. They performed in the House of Nobility Henry Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas. Even though it was not so long ago, when I saw this opera last, this production sounded so interesting that I simply had to buy a ticket. First, the venue itself – The House of Nobility – created an enchanting environment for the opera. It is, after all, the house of the Finnish nobility (which is usually rather invisible in a country like Finland). The opera was performed in the assembly hall, whose walls are decorated by the coats of arms of the Finnish noble families. So the surroundings were exquisite and suited the opera beautifully.  Dido and Aeneas was sold as a concert version, but it wasn’t actually purely that, since the soloists acted and walked a bit both on the stage and on the aisles.

It was super great to hear this opera performed especially by Finnish Baroque orchestra, who specializes in baroque music. Their conductor was Justin Doyle, whose cooperation with the orchestra was stellar. Doyle had also created a new prologue (based on the music of Purcell and John Blow) to the opera to replace the original one that has disappeared. The opera definitely sounded different with a prologue; an intriguing addition.

Key Ensemble acted as the chorus of the opera and its members sang also minor soloist roles. And they did it so well that I really hope to hear them some time in bigger roles, too. And if the small roles had good singers, the main soloist really exceeded all hopes. The stunning Tuuli Lindeberg sang the role of Dido. I hadn’t heard her sing such low a role before, so I was really enthusiastic listening her lower register. I can only wonder, where are the boundaries of her voice. The role of Aeneas was sung by Juho Punkeri. His soft tenor suited the role perfectly and his farewell aria was absolutely heart breaking. Belinda’s role was sung by Kajsa Dahlbäck, who didn’t disappoint her fans either.  

So, the opera alone made the listeners happy. But the most surprising thing about the evening was that the orchestra (and Key Ensemble plus soloists) performed after the opera (and frenzied applause) an encore, which was the final chorus scene from John Blow’s opera Venus and Adonis. Justin Doyle presented it in Finnish, which the audience loved. And the scene itself was great, so it was a fine way to end a memorable baroque evening.

The House of Nobility

The performers