Opera

Thematically linked by supernatural powers who meddle in mortal matters, Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas and Marc-Antoine Charpentier's Actéon capture-in strikingly divergent ways-the tensions and decorum of the Baroque era. Directed by Vincent Boussard and conducted by the esteemed William Christie (March 18 & 21) and ascending star Jonathan Cohen (March 20), both new productions reveal Les Arts Florissants' musical mastery of the British and French repertory.

Considered Purcell's "true opera," Dido and Aeneas-based on Virgil's tragic love story of a queen and Trojan refugee-seethes with ineffable pathos through Purcell's resolutely beautiful score. Equally marvelous is Charpentier's Actéon, a taut retelling of the Greek myth in which the hapless hunter, caught glimpsing the bathing goddess Diana, meets a truly tragic fate. Mesmerizing and sonically rich, these distinctive, dramatically astute works create a seamless marriage of narrative, song, dance, and music.