Queen of Carthage | Cynthia Stokes

Queen of Carthage

Director Cynthia Stokes

Queen of Carthage Directed by Cynthia Stokes

- Queen of Carthage
  SD City Opera
  "Gets To The Heart of the Matter"
  
  " Sometimes you wonder how they do it. Case in point: the San Diego City Opera’s inaugural production of “Queen of Carthage” at the La Jolla Playhouse’s WoW Festival. The first production of this new opera company founded by director Cynthia Stokes and conductor Cory Hibbs was produced with minimal resources… It was done outdoors in a Eucalyptus grove near Scripps Institution of Oceanography, presenting a myriad of challenges.
  
  And yet, somehow, some way, they got to the beating, beautiful, timeless heart of Purcell’s 1688 masterpiece. Their 45-minute reduction of Purcell’s “Dido and Aeneas,” renamed “Queen of Carthage” was an inspiration. You left thinking this was music you could hear for an eternity, and that’s probably how long it will continue to be played.
  
  Stokes made the most of what resources she had, always stressing the most human aspects of the story and having her characters interact in a natural, unaffected manner. Somehow it worked. Somehow it connected in a very elemental way. Don’t ask me how. "
  
  James Chute
  San Diego Union Tribune