The opera, brought to Sydney by internationally-renowned German director and choreographer Sasha Waltz with her company Sasha Waltz & Guests and the Berlin Academy for Ancient Music, will feature 50 dancers, singers and musicians and a giant raised water tank into which dancers dive and perform underwater.
“The NSW Government is proud to support the 2014 Sydney Festival through Arts NSW and our tourism and major events agency Destination NSW given its key role as a major cultural event drawcard for Sydney,” Minister for Tourism, Major Events and the Arts, George Souris said.
“Dido & Aeneas by Sasha Waltz will provide the kind of unique and cutting edge cultural experience for which Sydney Festival is renowned, delivering a highly engaging show combining dance, theatre, opera and underwater performance on a massive and spectacular scale.
“The aquatic theme, retelling the ancient and tragic tale of unrequited love involving Dido the Queen of Carthage and the Trojan hero Aeneas, is sure to resonate with Sydney audiences given our own love of the water.”
“Last year’s Festival attracted an audience of over half a million people across 23 days. It featured 121 sold out performances with over 120,000 tickets sold across 321 ticketed performances.”
Mr Souris said the NSW Government is providing over $5 million, including core funding provided through Arts NSW, to support the 2014 Sydney Festival as part of its commitment to ensuring NSW remains the creative capital of Australia.
“Destination NSW is also investing in Sydney Festival and will promote travel packages for the Festival internationally, focusing in particular on attracting visitors from China.”
Sydney Festival Director, Lieven Bertels, said: “Sydney Festival is thrilled to be able to confirm our first landmark project for 2014.The ongoing support of the NSW Government, through Arts NSW and Destination NSW, allows us to build on the sell-out success of last year’s fashion opera project, Semele Walk.
“It’s fitting that Sydney Festival, through this continued support, can present Sasha Waltz’s quintessential opera project Dido & Aeneas as an Australian exclusive.
“This will be Sasha Waltz’s first ever visit to Sydney, with a production that is unique in its collaborative spirit, bringing together multiple art forms, and in its unusual scale, both in manpower and the use of advanced stagecraft techniques.”
Pictured L-R at the Sydney Festival launch: Executive Director of the Sydney Festival Lieven Bertels, Minister for Tourism and Major Events George Souris, Destination NSW CEO Sandra Chipchase.
Information on the 2014 Sydney Festival is available from sydneyfestival.org.au
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