As part of its landmark autumn touring season, the English Touring Opera (ETO) has launched an ambitious and intellectually rigorous double bill pairing Henry Purcell’s baroque masterpiece Dido and Aeneas with Elena Langer’s contemporary 2002 lyric work, Ariadne. This pairing brings together two distinct explorations of classical myth, human vulnerability, and emotional betrayal through a thoroughly modern theatrical lens.
At the heart of the ETO’s presentation of Purcell’s tragedy is mezzo-soprano Samantha Price, who takes on her highly anticipated role debut as the Carthaginian queen, Dido. Fresh off her acclaimed performance as Romeo in the ETO’s 2025 production of Bellini’s The Capulets & the Montagues, Price brings her characteristic dramatic depth and vocal precision to a character defined by psychological transformation and devastating loss. Directed by Rebecca Meltzer and conducted by Alex Robinson, with Michael Lafferty starring alongside Price as Aeneas, this fresh staging of Dido and Aeneas shares an abstract, timeless set design by Alex Berry with its companion piece, Ariadne—which is directed by Anna Morrisey and features Jessica Cale in the title role.
In an exclusive interview during the opening stages of the rigorous rehearsal process, Price reflected on the challenges of inhabiting one of the most iconic roles in the operatic canon. Delving deeply into Virgil’s classical source material, Price and her creative team have sought to unpick the layers of myth to illuminate Dido’s complex psychological backstory—a narrative arc that makes her ultimate tragic end not merely a plot device, but the inevitable culmination of profound historical and personal trauma.
Detailed Chronology
The genesis of this dynamic autumn season reaches back through the collaborative relationships that have steadily defined the careers of the principal artists involved. Over the past several years, the intersection of classical revival and innovative staging has driven ETO’s programming philosophy.
Recent Milestones and Artistic Milestones
2023: Samantha Price stepped into the title role of Bizet’s Carmen for the Waterperry Opera Festival, under the direction of Anna Morrisey—the same visionary director steering Ariadne for the ETO this season. This collaboration laid crucial groundwork for their current theatrical chemistry.
Late 2023: Price delighted audiences at the English National Opera (ENO) as she tackled the whimsical, demanding world of Gilbert and Sullivan in Iolanthe, directed by Cal McCrystal.
Mid-2024: Further expanding her comedic and stylistic range, Price performed in The Yeomen of the Guard at Opera Holland Park and later tackled Princess Ida with the National Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company in Buxton.
Early 2025: Price delivered a powerhouse performance as Romeo in Bellini’s The Capulets & the Montagues for the English Touring Opera, establishing a standard of physical and vocal stamina that prepared her well for her current transition into the heavy psychological demands of Dido.
Summer 2025: Returning to the Waterperry Opera Festival, Price starred in Living Light, an immersive, one-woman early evening show directed by Rebecca Meltzer. This meditative piece blended the writings and music of Hildegard of Bingen with atmospheric lighting inside the historic church at Waterperry, introducing Price to a new echelon of contemplative, site-specific performance.
October – November 2025: The ETO autumn tour officially commences. The double bill of Ariadne and Dido and Aeneas opens in Sheffield on October 9, embarking on an intensive multi-venue national tour that brings professional opera directly to regional audiences across the United Kingdom.
Supporting Context & Metrics
Bringing two contrasting operas to the stage simultaneously under a touring model presents a matrix of logistical hurdles, artistic challenges, and cultural touchstones.
The Logistics of a National Tour
The ETO autumn tour is structured across seven major regional venues, running from October 9 through November 21, 2025. Unlike a static run in a permanent West End or metropolitan opera house, where performers can establish long-term routines and settle comfortably into a single acoustic environment, touring demands adaptability.
Every theatre along the route possesses unique architectural acoustics, backstage layouts, and technical constraints. Performers and crew are typically allotted a narrow one-hour window for technical sound checks and spatial adjustments. For Samantha Price, this inherent unpredictability is not a deterrent, but an invigorating test of focus:
"The touring element keeps you on your toes; you have to be extra organised and allow plenty of time on the day… There is certainly no opportunity to get comfortable and bored."
Rehearsal Constraints and Crossover Productions
Logistical complexity has been further amplified internally at the ETO. The creative and technical teams are currently managing a shared rehearsal space and tightly interlaced time schedules for a second major autumn production: Gluck’s Orpheus & Euridice. Compounding this scheduling puzzle, several ensemble members and vocalists are cross-cast, performing in multiple operas across the ETO’s autumn repertoire.
The Cultural Zeitgeist of Classical Myth
The current staging of Dido and Aeneas arrives at a moment of broader cultural fascination with Greco-Roman mythology. Bolstered by cinematic releases like Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey, ancient myths are enjoying a major pop-culture resurgence.
The ETO creative team has leaned into this zeitgeist. Rather than adopting a literal, toga-and-sandals Roman setting, the production—utilizing Alex Berry’s abstract set design—aims for a timeless aesthetic. This visual approach strips away historical baggage to clearly project the raw interpersonal drama at the core of Purcell’s score.
Tour Itinerary Metrics
Opening Night: October 9, 2025 – Sheffield
Tour Duration: 6 weeks (October 9 – November 21, 2025)
Total Venues Visited: 7 core locations across the UK
Key Stops:
Sheffield (October 9)
Hackney Empire, London (October 17)
Buxton Opera House (October 24)
Snape Maltings (October 31)
Barnstaple (November 2)
Malvern (November 14)
Saffron Hall (November 21)
Official Statements
Samantha Price on Inhabiting Dido and Understanding Her Backstory
For Price, stepping into the role of Dido required looking far beyond the score’s sparse vocal requirements—which include just two primary arias and a series of dense, plot-heavy recitatives. To make Dido’s dramatic collapse believable, Price immersed herself in Virgil’s Aeneid, conducting deep background research to unearth the psychological weight bearing down on the Queen of Carthage before a single note is sung.
"There are reasons why Dido is not in a good place at the start of the opera! Her father died, her brother was murdered, and her husband died," Price explains. "In Virgil’s poem, she takes an oath not to marry again; her Queendom is her priority. All these events make complete sense of what happens in the opera, why she does not initially trust Aeneas. He comes with certain risks, but she is persuaded by the court. Yet he is charming, too good to be true. If these ideas are clear, then you have all the more understanding why his betrayal hits her so hard."
Balancing Scale and Accessibility
Reflecting on the stark physical contrasts between her massive, stamina-draining run as Romeo last year and her more internal, text-driven work as Dido, Price emphasizes the vital mission of the English Touring Opera:
"That ETO brings opera to the whole country is amazing, making it accessible; she feels it is well worth the challenge. It enables her to see such different auditoriums, rather than getting set in the same few theatres."
Exploring Diverse Repertoire: From Baroque to Gilbert & Sullivan
Beyond her work in early music and classical tragedy, Price has spent recent years cultivating a deep affinity for comic acting, British text delivery, and theatrical dialogue through the works of Gilbert and Sullivan. Having collaborated closely with notable directors and performers across the UK, she values the unique demands of theatrical storytelling:
"I regard myself as an actress who loves to sing and enjoys the challenge of dialogue, something you don’t get to do in a lot of other opera."
This versatility recently culminated in her collaboration with director Rebecca Meltzer on Living Light, where Price explored the contemplative, text-heavy spiritual soundscapes of Hildegard of Bingen—further expanding a performance portfolio that ranges from Bizet’s fiery Carmen to Purcell’s tragic Queen.
Future Outlook
As the English Touring Opera’s autumn season unfolds across the United Kingdom, the reception of this bold double bill will serve as a bellwether for how modern regional opera can successfully marry early baroque masterpieces with contemporary works. By pairing Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas with Elena Langer’s Ariadne, the ETO has created a cohesive, intellectually stimulating theatrical evening that challenges its creative forces and elevates its rising stars.
For Samantha Price, this role debut marks a pivotal milestone in a rapidly ascending career. Having proven her dramatic stamina in sprawling romantic tragedies like Bellini’s The Capulets & the Montagues and mastered the nuances of comic timing in British operetta, her nuanced, psychologically grounded portrayal of Dido signals an artist at the height of her interpretive powers.
Following the conclusion of the tour on November 21, 2025, at Saffron Hall, Price’s ongoing exploration of diverse vocal landscapes—spanning from medieval mystic chants to high baroque laments—suggests a vibrant, multifaceted future. As companies like the ETO continue to champion regional access, inventive staging, and deep textual excavation, artists like Price demonstrate that classical opera remains vital, restless, and profoundly relevant to modern audiences.
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