Love Too Strong to Survive in HSU Opera Workshop Spring Production

With Sarah Benzinger, a Humboldt State junior from Eureka, playing one of the title roles, 29 singers together with members of the Humboldt Symphony will present the short opera, Dido and Aeneas on Friday and Saturday nights, April 13 and 14 in the Fulkerson Recital Hall on the HSU campus.

Besides Sarah Benzinger as Dido, this mythological love story also features Conor Jamison as Aeneas and Mindy Willens as Belinda. Mika Smith performs a solo dance. He also contributed to the choreography. Members of the Humboldt Symphony provide instrumental accompaniment, conducted by Ken Ayoob, and featuring Gregg Granoff on harpsichord.

The opera is staged by the Opera Workshop class at HSU, taught by Dr. Elisabeth Harrington. Audiences should appreciate Henry Purcell’s lively, romantic opera in English, she believes. “ It has dancing as well as drama, and even though it’s a tragedy, it doesn’t really become sad until the final scene. It has many moments of levity before then.”

It is also a perfect fit for the Workshop class. “The running time is just under an hour, so the opera can be learned within a semester,” Dr. Harrington said. “There are dance numbers and many colorful characters that offer students the chance to integrate their dramatic and dance skills as well as their singing.”