DIDO reloaded (2013)

Comissioned by Òpera de Butxaca i Nova Creació (OBNC).
Chamber Opera: soprano, mezzo, clarinet / bass clarinet, cello & electronics. 
DIDO reloaded part III. Oct 23, 2013. Reial Acadèmia de Medicina, Barcelona. 

In 2013, OBNC (Òpera de Butxaca i Nova Creació) asked four young catalan composers (Raquel García-Tomás, Octavi Rumbau, Xavier Bonfill and Joan Magrané) to revisit the story of Dido and Æneas. Keeping in mind Virgil's original myth, the four composers took the music of Purcell and the accompaning libretto by Tate as a starting point. Each composer would cover one out of four equally lasting parts / scenes. Dido would be played by soprano María Hinojosa, while mezzosoprano Anna Alàs would be her helper Belinda. Both of them would double as the witches that conspire against the lovers. Æneas would, nevertheless, be absent, only mentioned by the other characters like a distant memory, and occasionally incarnated on stage by Víctor de la Rosa’s clarinet. 

The production was prominently featured in the catalan media (TV, radio, newspapers and magazines) and received very positive reviews. The premiere took place at the Reial Acadèmia de Medicina in Barcelona and was followed by another performance in Madrid. The creative team would soon after win the Berliner Opernpreis, what would allow them to write “Go, ÆNEAS, Go!” that would be premiered in Berlin in 2014. “DIDO reloaded” and “Go, ÆNEAS, Go!” were performed as a double feature at the Teatre Lliure in Barcelona, for 5 shows in November 2014.