For the first time, Canberra Qwire joins forces with some of the ACT’s finest musicians in a landmark performance, These Precious Hours: Purcells's Dido & Aeneas Reimagined.
Join Qwire on Saturday 28 June at 7:00pm as they reinterpret Henry Purcell’s 1689 opera, Dido & Aeneas, and explore themes of Queer love, loss and heartache with music that transcends generations.
On Saturday 28 June, Canberra Qwire (proudly LGBTQIA+) will be presenting a landmark performance at Llewellyn Hall – These Precious Hours: Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas Reimagined. For the first time in their 32-year history, Qwire is stepping back 400 years to explore themes of queer love, loss and heartache in Henry Purcell’s 1689 opera, Dido & Aeneas.
Joined by some of the Canberra region’s finest musicians, Qwire presents a semi-staged imagining of the opera, where the central role of Dido is recast as male-identifying. Throughout is music that transcends generations, with the opera culminating in the deeply moving Dido’s Lament. In the second half of the concert, Qwire returns to stage to perform more contemporary repertoire, chosen collectively as a musical response to the themes explored in the opera.
This performance marks the first for Canberra Qwire’s new music team, which includes Callum Tolhurst-Close (Musical Director), Lenore Studdert (Assistant Musical Director) and Hugo Temby (Principal Accompanist). These Precious Hours also features the exceptional talents of Oscar Balle-Bowness (Dido), Andrew Barrow (Aeneas), Rachel Mink (Belinda) and Alasdair Stretch (The Sorcerer).
Supporting these soloists are the Ellery String Quartet , double bassist Lizzy Collier and percussionist, Jack Holmes. Musical Director, Callum Tolhurst-Close says:
“This is a landmark performance for Qwire and an opportunity to explore music that we haven’t traditionally explored in the past. It has been a wonderful learning experience and we’ve been able to explore a canonical opera through a queer lens, which has been enlightening and provided multiple interesting perspectives on the narrative."
These Precious Hours: Purcell’s Dido & Aeneas Reimagined
7pm, Saturday 28 June 2025
Llewellyn Hall, ANU School of Music
DETAILS
Saturday 28 June at 7:00pm
Llewellyn Hall ANU
School of Music Building #100
William Herbert Place
Australian National University
ACTON ACT 2601
CREATIVES:
Callum Tolhurst-Close, Conductor
Hugo Temby, Continuo + Accompanist
Ellery String Quartet
Lizzy Collier, Double Bass
Jack Holmes, Percussion
Oscar Balle-Bowness as Dido
Andrew Barrow as Aeneas
Rachel Mink as Belinda
Alasdair Stretch as The Sorcerer
Contact Canberra Qwire if you'd like to join at: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Canberra Qwire rehearsals run from 7pm-9pm each Thursday.
Canberra Qwire is a non-auditioned community choir, more than 100 voices strong and made up of a diverse group from across the rainbow community and our allies. For more than 30 years, we have been gathering on Ngunnawal land to share our love of music and we look forward to sharing this concert with you.
