Opportunities to hear live opera in Cape Girardeau are rare, and rarer still is the chance to hear a Baroque masterpiece -- one that's even sung in English.

All that will come to pass Friday and Saturday when Southeast's Music Theatre Workshop presents performances of "Dido and AEneas" at Old St. Vincent's Church.

All shows begin at 8 p.m. All seats are reserved through the Department of music (651-2141)

Written by Henry Purcell in 1689, "Dido and AEneas" is based on Book IV of Virgil's "AEneid." It follows AEneas' escape after the fall of Troy and his quest to found the new Troy.

Shipwrecked, he falls in love with Dido, the Queen of Carthage. But witches have other, tragic plans for AEneas and Dido.

It has been more than two years since the Opera Theatre staged its last production, "Amahl and the Night Visitors."

Dr. Elizabeth James-Gallagher, the producer and director of this production, said the idea of collaborating on a work by Henry Purcell came from Dr. Sara Edgerton, who conducts the University Orchestra.

The opera contains "Dido's Lament," an aria that is classic literature for mezzo-sopranos.

The melody and construction set the aria apart, James-Gallagher says, along with the ingenious repeating bass line.

"It's like listening to the blues. It's the same pattern over and over yet it stays exciting."

Edgerton will be part of the 12-piece chamber orchestra that will accompany the singers. Dr. Gary Miller, a professor of music at the university, will play harpsichord Friday night. Tim DePriest will take over the duties Saturday night.

A number of the roles are being shared. Larissa Sybert plays Dido Friday, and Alison Nall moves in on Saturday. Tyson Zahner is AEneas on Friday, and George Aplin assumes the role for Saturday's performance.

The role of Belinda will be shared by Bria Nicholson and Jamie Becker.

Other roles belong to Chrissy McMullin, Caleb Zustiak, Danna Dockery, Jennifer Cooper, Matt Kiesling, Adrian True and Jenni Rickard.

The 18-member cast also includes Jennifer Cooper, J.C. Kime, Scott Krietemeyer, Karen Parsley and Beth Roethemeyer.

Dennis C. Seyer, an assistant professor of theater, designed the set. Kelly Schneider is the assistant director.

The choreography is by Natalie Woodward, who teaches in Southeast's dance program. Audiences will see more formalized gestures than perhaps they are used to seeing in newer operas.

Dr. Christopher Goeke, the music director and conductor for this production, and the orchestra will be stationed behind the set during the performance. The singers will be able to see him on a video monitor.

The set-up is necessitated by the space limitations of the church, but Goeke says the high ceilings and small space are appropriate to the time.

"This is exactly what would have been encountered in the first performance," he said.

There are of course no original recordings of Baroque style. Scholars can only imagine what the instruments and voices might have sounded like. And they think everything would have been much more muted than the expansive sound heard in opera houses today.

"It's a different approach geared toward understanding the words and making it more intimate," Goeke said. "It's good for the singers. They don't have to push."

Beth Roethemeyer, a freshman music major from Jackson, has sung with the Choral Union and in madrigals but this is her first opera.

"It's fun to sing," Roethemeyer said, "because it's so light and easy to understand."

Matt Kiesling, a junior from Chicago, has been in a number of musicals and appeared in "Amahl and the Night Visitors."

There is a difference between musicals and opera, he says.

"It's in learning how to take direction and how to react on stage."

James-Gallagher says "Dido and AEneas" is an example of how the musicial theater and opera program are building at Southeast. The university plans someday to offer a musical theater major.