REVIEW: Levens Choir, Kendal Town Hall
THIS was a very imaginative interpretation of Purcell’s opera Dido and Aeneas performed by Levens Choir under their musical director Ian Jones.
Emily Robinson played the title role of Dido and what a stunning voice. The real stars of the evening, however, were Levens Choir. They threw themselves into their roles and looked as if they were enjoying singing. 
The young Keir McGregor played Aeneas and there were cameo performances from Helen Keogh, as a perky Belinda, Steve Keogh as a drunken sailor and the two snarling witches played by Sophie Proctor and Frances Lovell. 
I wasn’t sure why the chorus wore a mixture of costumes depicting construction workers, poker players, football supporters, a madrigal group or sitting in a doctor’s waiting room – was it a modern-day Carthage? 
I never thought I would hear Levens sounding like snarling witches or West Country sailors enjoying a drink; and the storm arrived and we had a Mary Poppins moment when up went umbrellas! 
I was slightly disappointed with the final chorus, With Drooping Wing, whose tempo didn’t reflect the pathos of Dido’s suicide.
Emily Robinson captured the character of Dido as a proud but vulnerable queen, although at times she didn’t have eye contact with Belinda during the dialogues and maybe could have made more of Purcell’s wonderful dramatic word painting.
Earlier, the men of the choir sang Britten’s Little Musgrave and Lady Barnard with conviction, sensitively accompanied by Alexa Wightman.
It was an exhilarating evening with the whole ensemble at their best.
PHILIP BURTON