The Hays High Chamber Singers are performing the opera “Dido and Aeneas” on March 13 and 14 at the Hays Community Theater, located at 121 E. Eighth St.

“Dido and Aeneas” runs for about an hour to an hour and 15 minutes. The director Alex Underwood said he believes people should see the opera.

“I think that it is a beautiful work itself, so if you are a fan of classical music at all, then this is a great opportunity to hear really cool work,” Underwood said. “And, if you have never been to an opera before, I think this is a great opportunity to go to one.”

This is the first project of its kind that the Chamber Singers have done.

The opera itself is a large piece of music that slowly unfolds as a story. Rather than having individual songs, though, there is a total of 38 sets, and those without solo parts sing in more than 20 of them.

The leads of the opera include junior Alisara Arial as Dido, junior Kai Kaufman as Belinda and junior Gabe McGuire as Aeneas.

Secondary parts were assigned to junior Caitlin Leiker as the Sorceress, junior Hanna Dannar as the First Witch, junior Samantha Vesper as the Second Witch, junior Tom Drabkin as the Sailor and junior Nathan Leiker as the Spirit.

The Chamber Singers who have larger roles have been working on the opera for quite some time.

“The group has been working on it since January,” Underwood said. “In addition to that, some of the principles have been working on their arias since September”

Tickets are five dollars. They can be purchased in advance here or can be purchased at the door.

There are only 120 tickets for each night, so get them while you can!

21ewyatt@usd489.com