Less is more: Elena Langer's Ariadne & Purcell's Dido hit home in finely abstract productions, a real ensemble achievement from English Touring Opera

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas - Michael Lafferty, Samantha Price - English Touring Opera [Photo: Richard Hubert Smith]

Elena Langer: Ariadne; Jessica Cale, Kieron-Connor Valentine, director: Anna Morrissey
Purcell: Dido & Aeneas; Samantha Price, Michael Lafferty, ISabelle Atkinson, Lydia Shariff, director Rebecca Meltzer, conductor: Alex Robinson
English Touring Opera at Hackney Empire
Reviewed 17 October 2026

Two tragic classical heroines in productions set in an abstract mythic present showcasing powerful performances from Jessica Cale and Samantha Price in productions that were a terrific ensemble achievement.

Alongside its version of Gluck's Orpheus & Eurydice [see my review], English Touring Opera (ETO) features another iconic early work as part of its autumn tour, with a double bill of Elena Langer's 2002 opera, Ariadne and Purcell's Dido & Aeneas. We caught the double bill on 17 October 2026 at the Hackney Empire. Ariadne was directed by Anna Morrisey and featured Jessica Cale as Ariadne and Kieron-Connor Valentine as Theseus. Dido & Aeneas was directed by Rebecca Meltzer and conducted by Alex Robinson. Samantha Price was Dido and Michael Lafferty was Aeneas, with an ensemble of eight singers from whom were drawn the solo roles, Isabelle Atkinson (Belinda/First Witch), Alexandra Meier (Second Woman, Second Witch), Lydia Shariff (Sorceress), Kieron-Connor Valentine (Spirit), Guy Elliott (Sailor), Binny-Supin Yang, Daniel Gray, Jonathan Eyers, and Peter Lidbetter. Designs for both operas were by Alex Berry with lighting by Joseph Hornsby.

Elena Langer wrote Ariadne in 2002 as part of her residency at Almeida Theatre and the opera was her first collaboration with poet Glyn Maxwell. The work is essentially a mono-drama performed by Ariadne (Jessica Cale) with four musicians - Hannah Conliffe (oboe), Gary Ngan (violin), Hannah Gardiner (viola), James Heathcote (cello). The action takes place largely in Ariadne's head after she discovers Theseus's (unexplained) absence. In fact, the work forms a modern counterpart to Haydn's Arianna a Naxos.

Elena Langer: Ariadne - Jessica Cale - English Touring Opera [Photo: Richard Hubert Smith]

Morrisey and Berry set the piece in a white box with the musicians on a platform at the rear. As the piece opened, Ariadne (Jessica Cale) and Theseus (Kieron-Connor Valentine) were in bed together on another platform, then Theseus slipped silently away. Valentine's only vocal contribution was Ariadne's brief hallucination of Theseus's voice at the end. But during the first half of the piece, Valentine's Theseus was a silent presence on stage, prowling around and periodically shifting the platform on which Ariadne's bed stood. A metaphor for the way Theseus continued to occupy space in Ariadne's mind.

Cale was terrific as Ariadne, holding our attention for what is essentially a 15 to 20 minute monologue, making us understand Ariadne's distress without ever overdoing things. This was a very person, very intense performance and one that drew an arc right across the piece. Almost additional characters in the opera, the four musicians were very present throughout thanks to Langer's wonderfully vibrant and inventive music. Led by the oboe, the musicians created their own world which commented on and amplified Cale's performance.

The piece might have been relatively short but it certainly packed a punch, though it was a shame that a short instrumental work by Langer could not have been found to form an overture of sorts.

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas - English Touring Opera [Photo: Richard Hubert Smith]

After the interval we moved from mythic Naxos to mythic Carthage. There was a marked difference of approach between directors Anna Morrisey (Ariadne) and Rebecca Meltzer (Dido & Aeneas) in the double bill, and Jenny Ogilvie in the previous evening's account of Gluck's Orpheus & Eurydice. Whereas Ogilvie chose a very detailed present as the setting, Morrisey and Meltzer chose a more classically abstact setting, a sort of mythic present. When I chatted to Samantha Price about singing her first Dido she explained that 'the production is not specific to Roman mythology and they are aiming for a timeless feel. They want to present the plot as clearly as possible, particularly as there is not a lot of story' [see my interview]

Additionally, Meltzer had brought in an element of play, taking inspiration from the earliest known performance of the opera in Josiah Priest's school. Here, Berry's wonderfully detailed costumes for the ensemble managed to playfully reference this whilst remaining stylish and imaginative. The set was the white box from Ariadne with a platform in the middle and surrounded by translucent screens. A feature of the production was the way that Dido (and Aeneas) were nearly always on display, either on the platform surrounded by the ensemble or with figures lurking behind the translucent screens. This created a distinct atmosphere without every overbalancing the dramaturgy.

From the outset, the production focused not so much on establishing Carthage in detail but on the relationship between Dido and Aeneas. Price's Dido was strongly sung yet with a vein of anxiety running through her that made the character's narrative arc clear. Price allowed us to see Dido's development, and the way she allowed herself to enter the relationship with Lafferty's Aeneas. Much of Dido's role is recitative and reaction, and Price brought out the detail well, culminating in a fine account of her final scene. Here, Meltzer and Price took the view that less is more, and allowed us the benefit of a still stage.

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas - Lydia Shariff (Sorceress), Isabelle Atkinson (1st Witch), Ensemble - English Touring Opera [Photo: Richard Hubert Smith]

Aeneas is a relatively small role, but Michael Lafferty brought a sense of inner strength to it, making us understand why he might be attractive to Dido. The production introduced instrumental music from Purcell's Diocletian after their first scene together which allowed them to develop the relationship more. This focus on Dido and Aeneas helped the context of the opera, and Lafferty successfully suggested a character whose ability to calm and strengthen Dido was paramount.

There were strong performances from Isabelle Atkinson and Alexandra Meier as Belinda and the Second Woman. These were slyly demanding of Price's Dido, not setting her apart. All this was in the context of the ensemble playing the Carthage court as one full of those demanding, with plenty of vivid movement. The ensembles were somewhat disturbing, suggesting that problems that Carthage was facing rather than bland classicism.

The ensemble turned into witches via the simple addition of dark glasses, a ruse which was surprisingly effective. It helped that Lydia Shariff was a terrific Sorceress, rich of voice and threatening without resorting to silly voices. This was a character who effortlessly assumed command, aided by Atkinson and Meier as First and Second Witch. Kieron-Connor Valentine was the rather put-upon spirit.

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas - Samantha Price - English Touring Opera [Photo: Richard Hubert Smith]

Guy Elliott made a charming sailor in the context of a scene where the men of the ensemble threw off their clothes (down to vests and boxer-shorts) ran amok, ending up showering in an excess of exuberance at their delight at leaving Carthage. There was no sailors' dance, but plenty of movement.

Rebecca Meltzer is a movement director as well as director. She impressed last year with her production of Handel's Semele for Waterperry Opera Festival [see my review]. In Dido & Aeneas I enjoyed the way she never shied away from dance and movement in the production. We didn't have a lot of formal choreography, but her approach respected the way dance is threaded through Purcell's music. And she took advantage of this to deepen our understanding of the characters via movement.

The hard-working ensemble were rarely off stage and this really was an all-singing all-dancing performance. All eight were wonderfully engaging whether being rather intimidating courtiers or disturbing witches (without out an exaggeration or caricature).

Purcell: Dido & Aeneas - Samantha Price, Michael Lafferty - English Touring Opera [Photo: Richard Hubert Smith]

In the pit, Alex Robinson drew a fine performance from the band, allowing the vivid dance moments in Purcell's score to colour the music. As ever, in a theatre the size of the Hackney Empire, the continuo (harpsichord and theorbo) felt somewhat underpowered. Also some of Robinson's speeds felt rather slow, and the whole opening scene could have done with moving on. As it was, Samantha Price particularly impressed with the way she was able to work the dialogue at such a slow pace. 

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