January 29, 2009 - SCENE MAGAZINE
Dido and Aeneas
by Michael Gill

It's about time. That's what we have to say about Apollo's Fire appearing at long last - after 16 years of performing in Northeast Ohio churches - at a church recycled into an art gallery, Josaphat Arts Hall (1433 E. 33rd St.). Jeannette Sorrell, with soloists Meredith Hall and Sumner Thompson and the Apollo's Singers Chorus, will use the former church, which houses Convivium 33 Gallery, for its production of Henry Purcell's baroque opera masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas. It's the story of Queen Dido of Carthage and the shipwrecked Trojan Aeneas, who falls in doomed love with her. Its most famous aria is Dido's lament "When I am laid in earth," which has been used by bands whose music deals with suicide, from Nine Inch Nails to the goth group Qntal, as well as in several movies. The one-hour, three-act opera is augmented on the program by selections from Purcell's "Ayrs for the Theatre." The first performance is at 7:30 tonight at First United Methodist Church in Akron, followed by five performances Friday through Tuesday at Josaphat Arts Hall. Tickets: $25-$60. Call 216.320.0012 or go to apollosfire.org.