Dido and Aeneas Cast Announcement

Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Scots Opera Project team up for a Scottish Gaelic and Scots Language version of the opera Dido and Aeneas.

Pitlochry Festival Theatre and Scots Opera Project are set to join forces in late Summer to produce an exciting new Scottish Gaelic and Scots Language version of Henry Purcell’s baroque operatic masterpiece, Dido and Aeneas.

Performed from 31 August till 15 September in the charming atmosphere of Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s outdoor Amphitheatre, the opera recounts the Queen of Carthage’s love for the Prince of Troy, and her despair when he abandons her. Dido and Aeneas is one of Purcell’s foremost theatrical works. This beloved operatic gem includes stunning choruses, duos, trios, and the iconic aria ‘When I Am laid in Earth.’ The interpretation will blend professional opera singers with the powerful voices of a community company.

The Scots Opera Project is an award-nominated opera company. Appearances include live performances on BBC Radio Scotland’s Classics Unwrapped and STV’s The Riverside Show. In 2019, the company was nominated for both a Scots Language and a Scottish Gaelic Award in Arts and Culture for Dido and Aeneas.

Their productions have included Charpentier’s Actéon and The Descent O’ Orpheus Tae The Underwarl, Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and Handel’s Acis and Galatea. Together with the composer Alan Fleming Baird, the company created a new opera based on the life and works of the Paisley poet, Robert Tannahill. As well as a new operatic version of Robert Burns’ The Jolly Beggars. In 2022, they performed the Scottish Premier of Granville Bantock and Marjory Kennedy-Fraser’s The Seal-Woman.

Director and Music Director for Scots Opera Project David Douglas said:

“I am extremely honoured to collaborate on this exciting version of Dido and Aeneas with Pitlochry Festival Theatre. A standout feature of this production is the incorporation of Scots and Gaelic translations, infusing a fresh and vibrant Scottish flavour into the performance. Operas worldwide embrace native languages, and for Scotland, the use of Scots and Gaelic adds a unique perspective, captivating both performers and the audience. The outdoor performance promises an extraordinary experience, offering a new take on a well-known baroque masterpiece. Additionally, the inclusion of a community chorus alongside our stellar professional cast will breathe new life into Purcell’s enchanting ensembles, enhancing the overall richness of this opera.”

The production will feature Kilmarnock-based tenor David Douglas, Perthshire based soprano Coleen Nicoll, Edinburgh based Northern Irish soprano Emma Morwood; Glasgow based baritone Colin Murray and Stirling based Austrian mezzo-soprano Ulrike Wutscher and a community chorus.

Tickets and further information about Dido and Aeneas are available from the Box Office on 01796 484626 or online at pitlochryfestivaltheatre.com.

CREATIVES & CAST

Pitlochry Festival Theatre in co-production with Scots Opera Project presents

DIDO AND AENEAS

Creatives

Composer Henry Purcell

Libretto Nahum Tate

Scots Translation Dr Michael Dempster

Gaelic Translation Marcas Mac an Tuairneir

Director David Douglas

Chorus Director Colleen Nicoll

Musical Director Andrew Johnston

Performers

David Douglas Sailor/Spirit

Colin Murray Aeneas

Colleen Nicoll Belinda

Emma Morwood Dido

Ulrike Wutscher Sorceress

Community Chorus

Cast

David Douglas

David Douglas

David hails from Ayrshire. He trained at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (now the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland) and the Royal Northern College of Music. He pioneered The Scots Opera Project, who perform operas in Scots and Gaelic and piloted the Singing Doctors project for Welsh National Opera. He is a regular creative practitioner for Scottish Opera Outreach and Education, working on projects such as Disney Musicals in Schools, Breath Cycle, Memory Spinners and Scottish Opera Young Company.

Credits: David has performed with Les Arts Florissants, Glyndebourne Festival Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera, The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, The Dunedin Consort, Birmingham Opera Company, Carl Rosa and Opera North. Title roles in Charpentier’s Acteon and The Descent O’ Orpheus Tae the Underwarl, which were showcased on BBC Radio Scotland’s Classics Unwrapped and STV’s The Riverside Show. Other roles include Tamino in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Acis in Handel’s Acis and Galatea and the Islesman in the Scottish Première of The Seal Woman by Marjory Kennedy-Fraser and Granville Bantock.
Colin Murray

Colin Murray

Colin is a concert soloist and award-winning ensemble singer. An alumnus of the National Youth Choir of Scotland and a former choral scholar at Paisley Abbey. He is a Glasgow-based baritone and graduate of the Alexander Gibson Opera School at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, where he also attained a Bachelor of Music degree and a Masters in Vocal Performance.

Credits include: Masetto in Don Giovanni, Dancaire in Bizet’s Carmen and Maestro in the UK première of Golijov’s Ainadamar. Productions of Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Gondoliers, Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Candide covering Antonio, Starveling and Maximilian / Captain respectively (Scottish Opera). Opera Highlights tour, delivering a fully staged show of Opera scenes to communities across the country (Scottish Opera). Yushko Velebin in Rimsky-Korsakov’s Ivan the Terrible (The Grange Festival). Kaiser Uberall in Der Kaiser Von Atlantis, Don Alfonso in Così Fan Tutte, Father in Hansel und Gretel, principal roles in all five of Rossini’s Venetian One Act Operas, and covering Belcore in L’elisir d’amore (New Generation Festival in Florence).
Colleen Nicoll

Colleen Nicoll

Soprano Colleen Nicoll completed a Master’s in Vocal Performance at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance with distinction and combines a successful career as a professional soprano, animateur and choral conductor. She works frequently for the Scots Opera project most recently performing the role of the Seal Sister in their sell-out Scottish tour of The Seal Woman by Marjorie Kennedy Fraser and Granvile Banktock including performances for Perth Festival of The Arts

Colleen has recorded an album of Scottish classical art song with pianist Andrew Johnston – Wi A Canny Lilt. Colleen has completed outreach and education training with The Royal Opera House and English National Opera and works as a workshop leader and performer with Scottish Opera. She conducts Pitlochry and District Choral Society and Pitlochry Festival Theatre Show Choir.

Credits include: title role in Handel’s Semele, Tytania in Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Queen of The Night in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, Dido and Belinda in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, Susanna in Mozart’s Le Nozze di Figaro, Diana in Charpentier’s Actéon, Yum Yum in Gilbert and Sullivan’s The Mikado, Giannetta in Donizetti’s L’ e l i s i r d ’ a m o r e , Lady Dunmow in Berkeley’s A Dinner Engagement and Galatea in Handel’s Acis and Galatea.
Emma Morwood

Emma Morwood

Born in Belfast, Emma Morwood studied at the University of Edinburgh and the Royal Northern College of Music, where she was a major award winner. Now based in Scotland, Emma has sung with many of Europe’s finest orchestras and conductors.

Concert credits: soloist and presenter for the Viennese Gala Concert tour around Scotland (Royal Scottish National Orchestra); Schubert’s Mass in A flat (Scottish Chamber Orchestra); Haydn’s Creation (Ulster Orchestra/Daniele Rustioni); Handel’s Messiah (Irish Chamber Orchestra and Irish Baroque Orchestra); Strauss’ Vier Letzte Lieder (City Halls, Glasgow); Barber’s Knoxville; Schoenberg’s String Quartet no. 2 (Edinburgh Quartet); and Verdi’s Requiem (Edinburgh Royal Choral Union).

Opera credits: Despina in Così fan tutte (Irish National Opera); the lead role of Iris Robinson in Abomination: a DUP Opera by Conor Mitchell (Belfast Ensemble); Musetta in La bohème (Northern Ireland Opera); A Night at the Opera (Ulster Touring Opera); Costanza in Griselda by Vivaldi
(Irish National Opera and Irish Baroque Orchestra); Amore and Minerva in The Return of Ulysses (Monteverdi with Opera Collective Ireland). Emma also appears in the award-winning NI Opera film Old Friends and Other Days.

Future performances include the role of Alien in the world première of A New World by Anna Pidgorna with Red Note Ensemble; and a new opera by Conor Mitchell.
Ulrike Wutscher

Ulrike Wutscher

Ulrike is an Austrian mezzo-soprano living in Scotland. She studied singing at the Universität für Musik und darstellende Kunst Wien (MA). She continued her training in London at Trinity Laban (PGAD). She works as a singing teacher in Stirling and is the conductor of Crieff Choral Group. She regularly sings with the Scots Opera Project. Ulrike makes her debut as the Sorceress in this year’s Dido and Aeneas.

Credits include: Hermia in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Britten) and Daniel in Belshazzar (Handel). Junon and Hyale in Charpentier’s Acteon, the 3rd Lady in Mozart’s The Magic Flute, and The Cailleach in The Seal-Woman by Kennedy-Fraser & Bantock (Scots Opera Project). Alto solos in Handel’s Messiah, Mozart’s Requiem and Rossini’s Petit Messe Solennelle with choirs in Scotland, London and Austria.