KU Opera announces upcoming performances

The department of music and dance and KU Opera will present two interconnected one-act operas, “Dido and Aeneas,” by Henry Purcell, and “The Old Maid and the Thief,” by Gian Carlo Menotti, starting Thursday.

Both acts examine the issue of abandonment through both comedy and tragedy. At the top of part one in “Dido and Aeneas,” the character Miss Todd, a lonely woman of the Depression, listens to Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” and the piece comes to life for her. In part two, “The Old Maid and the Thief,” Miss Todd falls in love with a hobo she has taken in at the suggestion of her maid. Once she discovers her new love is a thief who has recently escaped from jail, her life unfolds into chaos.

“Dido and Aeneas” is accompanied by KU’s Instrumental Collegium Musicum, led by Paul Laird, KU professor of musicology, and features Laird; Larry Rice, instructor in double bass and string education; and Mark Ferrell, associate professor of voice/opera.

Showtimes are 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Saturday, Tuesday and Nov. 16-17 in the Robert Baustian Theatre, Room 102 in Murphy Hall. Tickets for this opera are $15 for adults and $7 for students. To order tickets, contact the Lied Center Box Office at 864-2787.