The Folger Library

Jacobi Headlines Measure + Dido Concert

Actor Derek Jacobi is reuniting with the Folger Consort again in a performance that blends a William Shakespeare play with an operatic concert and the musical backing of a period orchestra. This time, it's selections from Measure for Measure being integrated into a performance of Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas at the Kennedy Center's Opera House in Washington, D.C., for one performance only Oct. 1, 2016.

The performance is a celebration of the Folger Consort's 40th Anniversary. Folger Consort is the early music ensemble-in-residence at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Founding Artistic Directors Robert Eisenstein and Christopher Kendall established the ensemble in 1977, and continue to create programs that offer opportunities to discover and enjoy music from the medieval, Renaissance, and baroque periods. The performance of Measure+Dido is directed and adapted by Richard Clifford.

Among the actors and soloists joining Jacobi, who will be playing Angelo, will be Clifford as the Duke and Balthazar, Shirine Babb as Isabella, Peter Becker as Lucio and the Sorcerer, Emily Noël as Mariana and Belinda, Owiso Odera as Claudio and Escalus, Molly Quinn as Dido, and Jon Taylor Ward as Aeneas.

Jacobi has previously performed with the Folger Consort in concerts featuring The Merchant of Venice and The Tempest.

Dido and Aeneas tells the tale of the legendary Queen of Carthage, Dido, and the Trojan prince, Aeneas. When Aeneas and his crew are shipwrecked in Carthage, he and the Queen fall in love while witches plot Dido's destruction. It is Purcell's only full opera.
For tickets to Measure+Dido, contact the Kennedy Center Box Office at 202-467-4600 or visit www.kennedy-center.org.

September 21, 2016

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