While I’m at it in this mini-thread on the Aeneid, I might as well tip my hat to Henry Purcell and his Baroque-operatic interpretation of Dido’s death. But, more importantly, to Claus Guth.

Claus is a sort of de facto bigger cousin of mine. In 1992, I was spending the summer in Munich after college, where Claus was working on the equivalent of his Masters Thesis, or whatever they call it for opera directors. He had chosen to direct Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.

Claus Guth

So I joined up as stage crew. I don’t recall contributing anything remotely useful, although I do recall being mightily impressed with the whole scene and with Claus, even if I did not yet appreciate Virgil’s underlying story as I do now. (I think that picture above is of Dido on that stage.)

And what a career that production launched! The next time I saw one of Claus’s opera’s, it was in Salzburg, where he was opening the Festival with Mozart’s Idomeneo. And it’s gone straight up from there.

Which proves, once again, how timeless good storytelling such as Virgil‘s is, and how crucial it is to find the right stage crew. 😉