''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

in a prologue and three acts, written by the English

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

composer

Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (, rare: September 1659 – 21 November 1695) was an English composer. Purcell's style of Baroque music was uniquely English, although it incorporated Italian and French elements. Generally considered among the greatest E ...

with a

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

Nahum Tate Nahum Tate ( ; 1652 – 30 July 1715) was an Irish poet, hymnist and lyricist, who became Poet Laureate in 1692. Tate is best known for ''The History of King Lear'', his 1681 adaptation of Shakespeare's ''King Lear'', and for his libretto for ...

. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was composed no later than July 1688, and had been performed at

Josias Priest Josias Priest (''c.'' 1645 – 3 January 1735 in Chelsea, London) was an English dancer, dancing-master and choreographer. Biography In 1669, Priest was arrested along with four others for dancing and making music without a license. In 1668, he wa ...

's girls' school in London by the end of 1689.White, Bryan, 'Letter from Aleppo: dating the Chelsea School performance of Dido and Aeneas', 417 Some scholars argue for a date of composition as early as 1683.Pinnock, Andrew, 'Which Genial Day? More on the court origin of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, with a shortlist of dates for its possible performance before King Charles II’, Early Music 43 (2015), 199–212Bruce Wood and Andrew Pinnock, Unscared by turning times'? The dating of Purcell's Dido and Aeneas," The story is based on Book IV of

Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: t ...

's ''

Aeneid The ''Aeneid'' ( ; la, Aenē̆is or ) is a Latin Epic poetry, epic poem, written by Virgil between 29 and 19 BC, that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Troy, Trojan who fled the Trojan_War#Sack_of_Troy, fall of Troy and travelled to ...

''. It recounts the love of

Dido Dido ( ; , ), also known as Elissa ( , ), was the legendary founder and first queen of the Phoenician city-state of Carthage (located in modern Tunisia), in 814 BC. In most accounts, she was the queen of the Phoenician city-state of Tyre (t ...

, Queen of

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

, for the

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * ''Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 189 ...

hero

Aeneas In Greco-Roman mythology, Aeneas (, ; from ) was a Trojan hero, the son of the Trojan prince Anchises and the Greek goddess Aphrodite (equivalent to the Roman Venus). His father was a first cousin of King Priam of Troy (both being grandsons ...

, and her despair when he abandons her. A monumental work in

Baroque opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a librett ...

, ''Dido and Aeneas'' is remembered as one of Purcell's foremost theatrical works.Price in ''Grove'' It was also Purcell's only true opera, as well as his only all-sung dramatic work. One of the earliest known English operas, it owes much to

John Blow John Blow (baptised 23 February 1649 – 1 October 1708) was an English composer and organist of the Baroque music, Baroque period. Appointed organist of Westminster Abbey in late 1668,Venus and Adonis'', both in structure and in overall effect. The influence of Cavalli's opera '' Didone'' is also apparent. Both works use the prologue/three acts format and there are similarities between, for instance,

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

's solo in Didone and the solo "Come away fellow sailors" in Purcell's work.

Background and context

Before ''Dido and Aeneas,'' Purcell had composed music for several stage works, including nine pieces for

Nathaniel Lee Nathaniel Lee (c. 1653 – 6 May 1692) was an England, English dramatist. He was the son of Dr Richard Lee, a Presbyterian clergyman who was rector of Hatfield and held many preferments under the Commonwealth of England, Commonwealth; Dr Lee was ...

's '' Theodosius, or The Force of Love'' (1680) and eight songs for

Thomas d'Urfey Thomas d'Urfey (a.k.a. Tom Durfey; 165326 February 1723) was an English writer and wit. He wrote plays, songs, jokes, and poems. He was an important innovator and contributor in the evolution of the ballad opera. Life D'Urfey was born in Devonsh ...

's ''

A Fool's Preferment ''A Fool's Preferment; Or, The Three Dukes Of Dunstable'' is a 1688 comedy play by the English writer Thomas D'Urfey. It is a reworking of John Fletcher's Jacobean work ''The Noble Gentleman''. It was first performed by the United Company at th ...

'' (1688). He also composed songs for two plays by

(later the librettist of Dido and Aeneas), ''The Sicilian Usurper'' (1680) and ''

Cuckold's Haven ''Cuckold's Haven; Or, An Alderman No Conjurer'' is a 1685 comedy play by the Irish writer Nahum Tate. It was first staged at the Dorset Garden Theatre in London by the United Company. It was a reworking of George Chapman, Ben Jonson and John Ma ...

'' (1685). ''Dido and Aeneas'' was Purcell's first (and only) all-sung opera and derives from the English

masque The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment that flourished in 16th- and early 17th-century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio (a public version of the masque was the pageant). A masque ...

tradition.

Libretto

Originally based on Nahum Tate's play '' Brutus of Alba, or The Enchanted Lovers'' (1678), the opera is likely, at least to some extent, to be allegorical. The prologue refers to the joy of a marriage between two monarchs, which could refer to the marriage between

William William is a male given name of Germanic origin.Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 276. It became very popular in the English language after the Norman conquest of Engl ...

and

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

. In a poem of about 1686, Tate alluded to James II as Aeneas, who is misled by the evil machinations of the Sorceress and her witches (representing Roman Catholicism, a common metaphor at the time) into abandoning Dido, who symbolises the British people. The same symbolism may apply to the opera. This explains the addition of the characters of the Sorceress and the witches, which do not appear in the original ''Aeneid''. It would be noble, or at least acceptable, for Aeneas to follow the decree of the Gods, but not so acceptable for him to be tricked by ill-meaning spirits. Although the opera is a tragedy, there are numerous seemingly lighter scenes, such as the First Sailor's song, "Take a boozy short leave of your nymphs on the shore, and silence their mourning with vows of returning, though never intending to visit them more." Musicologist Ellen T. Harris considers the callousness and cynicism of the song to underline the "moral" of the story, that young women should not succumb to the advances and promises of ardent young men.

Score

No score in Purcell's hand is

extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...

, and the only seventeenth-century source is a libretto, possibly from the original performance. The earliest extant score, held in the

Bodleian Library The Bodleian Library () is the main research library of the University of Oxford, and is one of the oldest libraries in Europe. It derives its name from its founder, Sir Thomas Bodley. With over 13 million printed items, it is the second- ...

, was copied no earlier than 1750, well over sixty years after the opera was composed. No later sources follow the act divisions of the libretto, and the music to the prologue is lost. The prologue, the end of the act 2 'Grove' scene, and several dances, were almost certainly lost when the opera was divided into parts to be performed as interludes between the acts of spoken plays in the first decade of the eighteenth century. The first of the arias to be published separately was "Ah, Belinda" in ''

Orpheus Britannicus ''Orpheus Britannicus'' is a collection of songs by Henry Purcell, published posthumously in London in two volumes, the first in 1698 and the second in 1702. In the preface to the first volume, Henry Playford, the printer of the volume and the so ...

''. The most famous

aria In music, an aria (Italian: ; plural: ''arie'' , or ''arias'' in common usage, diminutive form arietta , plural ariette, or in English simply air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrumental or orchestral accompanime ...

of the work is "When I am laid in earth", popularly known as "

Dido's Lament Dido's Lament is the aria "When I am laid in earth" from the opera ''Dido and Aeneas'' by Henry Purcell ( libretto by Nahum Tate). It is included in many classical music textbooks on account of its exemplary use of the passus duriusculus i ...

". Both arias are formed on a

lament A lament or lamentation is a passionate expression of grief, often in music, poetry, or song form. The grief is most often born of regret, or mourning. Laments can also be expressed in a verbal manner in which participants lament about somethin ...

ground bass In music, an ostinato (; derived from Italian word for ''stubborn'', compare English ''obstinate'') is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, frequently in the same pitch. Well-known ostinato-based pieces include ...

. "Dido's Lament" has been performed or recorded by artists far from the typical operatic school, such as

Klaus Nomi Klaus Sperber (January 24, 1944 – August 6, 1983), known professionally as Klaus Nomi, was a German countertenor noted for his wide vocal range and an unusual, otherworldly stage persona. In the 1970s Nomi immersed himself in the East Villag ...

(as "Death"),

Ane Brun Ane Brun (; born Ane Brunvoll on 10 March 1976) is a Norwegian songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist of Sami people, Sami origin. Since 2003, she has recorded ten albums, eight of which are studio albums of original material (including a collecti ...

and

Jeff Buckley Jeffrey Scott Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), raised as Scott Moorhead, was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. After a decade as a session guitarist in Los Angeles, Buckley amassed a following in the early 1990s by ...

. It has also been transcribed or used in many scores, including the soundtrack to the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

miniseries '' Band of Brothers'' (renamed "Nixon's Walk"). It is played annually by a military band at

the Cenotaph The Cenotaph is a war memorial on Whitehall in London, England. Designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, it was unveiled in 1920 as the United Kingdom's national memorial to the British and Commonwealth dead of the First World War, was rededicated in 19 ...

remembrance ceremony, which takes place on the Sunday nearest to 11 November (

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I a ...

) in London's Whitehall. The music is sometimes thought to be too simple for Purcell in 1689, but this may simply reflect that the intended performers were schoolchildren. The work is scored for four-part strings and continuo. The fact that the libretto from the Chelsea School performance indicates two dances for guitar, the "Dance Gittars Chacony" in act 1, and the "Gittar Ground a Dance" in the 'Grove' scene of act 2, has led one scholar to suggest that Purcell envisaged a guitar as a primary member of the continuo group for the opera. Music for neither of these dances is extant, and it seems likely that Purcell did not compose them, but rather left them to be improvised by the guitarist. Several editions of the opera have been made and have been provided with a continuo realisation; a notable, if rather idiosyncratic edition being that made by

Imogen Holst Imogen Clare Holst (; 12 April 1907 – 9 March 1984) was a British composer, arranger, conductor, teacher, musicologist, and festival administrator. The only child of the composer Gustav Holst, she is particularly known for her education ...

and

Benjamin Britten Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten (22 November 1913 – 4 December 1976, aged 63) was an English composer, conductor, and pianist. He was a central figure of 20th-century British music, with a range of works including opera, other ...

. There are a number of editions with realisations, and the opera's accessibility to amateur performers is a feature that has greatly abetted the growth of its popularity in the latter half of the twentieth century.Purcell (1991) p. iv While the Prologue's music has been lost and has not been reconstructed, several realisations of the opera include a solution to the missing ''ritornello'' at the end of the second act. Known to have been part of the score, it is now performed as a dance taken from other, similar works by Purcell, or invented outright in the same vein, to keep the integrity and continuity of the performance.

Performance history

Premiere and early revivals

A letter from the Levant merchant Rowland Sherman associates ''Dido and Aeneas'' with

's girls' school in

Chelsea, London Chelsea is an affluent area in west London, England, due south-west of Charing Cross by approximately 2.5 miles. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames and for postal purposes is part of the south-western postal area. Chelsea histori ...

no later than the summer of 1688. The first performance may have taken place as early as 1 December 1687, and evidence suggests that the opera was performed at the school again in 1689. Several scholars have argued that the work was composed for the English court, either for Charles II (and perhaps as early as 1684) or for James II. Following the Chelsea performances, the opera was not staged again in Purcell's lifetime. Its next performance was in 1700 as a ''

'' incorporated into '' Beauty the Best Advocate'', an adapted version of Shakespeare's ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'' at

Thomas Betterton Thomas Patrick Betterton (August 1635 – 28 April 1710), the leading male actor and theatre manager during Restoration England, son of an under-cook to King Charles I, was born in London. Apprentice and actor Betterton was born in August 16 ...

's theatre in London. After 1705 it disappeared as a staged work, with only sporadic concert performances, until 1895 when the first staged version in modern times was performed by students of the

Royal College of Music The Royal College of Music is a music school, conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the Undergraduate education, undergraduate to the Doctorate, doctoral level in a ...

at London's Lyceum Theatre to mark the bicentenary of Purcell's death. ''Dido and Aeneas'' received its first performance outside England on 14 December 1895 in a concert version at the University Society in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

20th- and 21st-century performances

''Dido and Aeneas'' premiered in the United States at the

Plaza Hotel The Plaza Hotel (also known as The Plaza) is a luxury hotel and condominium apartment building in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It is located on the western side of Grand Army Plaza, after which it is named, just west of Fifth Avenue, a ...

in New York City on 10 February 1923 performed by the girls of the Rosemary School, although ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' noted that "considerable liberties" had been taken with the score. A concert version with professional musicians organised by the Society of Friends of Music took place on 13 January 1924 at the New York City Town Hall, using a score edited by

Artur Bodanzky Artur Bodanzky (also written as Artur Bodzansky) (16 December 1877 – 23 November 1939) was an Austrian-American conductor particularly associated with the operas of Wagner. He conducted Enrico Caruso's last performance at the Metropolitan Oper ...

, who also conducted the performance. As new critical editions of the score appeared, and with the revival of interest in Baroque music, the number of productions steadily increased. After

Jonathan Miller Sir Jonathan Wolfe Miller CBE (21 July 1934 – 27 November 2019) was an English theatre and opera director, actor, author, television presenter, humourist and physician. After training in medicine and specialising in neurology in the late 19 ...

's visit to

Bornholm Bornholm () is a Danish island in the Baltic Sea, to the east of the rest of Denmark, south of Sweden, northeast of Germany and north of Poland. Strategically located, Bornholm has been fought over for centuries. It has usually been ruled by ...

, Denmark, ''Dido'' was performed in 2007 at the

Rønne Rønne ( sv, Rönne) is the largest town on the Danish island of Bornholm in the Baltic Sea. It has a population of 13,807 (1 January 2022). It was a municipality in its own right from 1970 until 2002, when Bornholm was a county (Danish: ''Bornh ...

Theatre, which had been built in 1823. Kevin Duggan conducted. Amongst the new productions of the opera in 2009, the 350th anniversary of Purcell's birth, were those staged by the

De Nederlandse Opera The Dutch National Opera (DNO; formerly De Nederlandse Opera, now De Nationale Opera in Dutch) is a Dutch opera company based in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its present home base is the Dutch National Opera & Ballet housed in the Stopera building, a m ...

, the

Royal Opera, London The Royal Opera is a British opera company based in central London, resident at the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Along with the English National Opera, it is one of the two principal opera companies in London. Founded in 1946 as the Cove ...

, the Divertimento Baroque Opera Company, and

Glimmerglass Opera The Glimmerglass Festival (formerly known as Glimmerglass Opera) is an American opera company. Founded in 1975 by Peter Macris, the Glimmerglass Festival presents an annual season of operas at the Alice Busch Opera Theater on Otsego Lake eight ...

Cooperstown, New York Cooperstown is a village in and county seat of Otsego County, New York, United States. Most of the village lies within the town of Otsego, but some of the eastern part is in the town of Middlefield. Located at the foot of Otsego Lake in the C ...

. The Royal Opera production, which featured contemporary dance by

Wayne McGregor Random Dance Wayne McGregor, Order of the British Empire, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor w ...

and animated effects by Mark Hatchard, formed part of a double bill with Handel's '' Acis and Galatea''. In 2011 the opera was revived by City Wall Productions and set during World War II. A new

Opera North Opera North is an English opera company based in Leeds. The company's home theatre is the Leeds Grand Theatre, but it also presents regular seasons in several other cities, at the Theatre Royal, Nottingham, the Lowry Centre, Salford Quays and ...

production of the opera opened at

Leeds Grand Theatre The Grand Theatre, also known as Leeds Grand Theatre and Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, is a theatre and opera house in Briggate, Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. It seats approximately 1,500 people. Building It was designed by James ...

in February 2013. Opera Up Close performed a truncated version in 2011, setting it in an American high school in the 1950s.

Adaptations

A version of the opera adapted to

modern dance Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance which included dance styles such as ballet, folk, ethnic, religious, and social dancing; and primarily arose out of Europe and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th ...

was choreographed by the American Mark Morris, who originally danced both the roles of Dido and the Sorceress. It premiered on 11 March 1989 at the Théâtre Varia in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. It has since been performed many times and was filmed in 1995 by Canadian director Barbara Willis Sweete, with Morris in the roles of Dido and the Sorceress. The production was subsequently seen at the Grand Théâtre in

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

Opéra national de Montpellier The Opéra national de Montpellier Languedoc-Roussillon is an opera company located in the Place de la Comédie in Montpellier, France. The company was established in 1755 and was granted the status of "National Opera" in 2002 by the French Minist ...

, and

Sadler's Wells Theatre Sadler's Wells Theatre is a performing arts venue in Clerkenwell, London, England located on Rosebery Avenue next to New River Head. The present-day theatre is the sixth on the site since 1683. It consists of two performance spaces: a 1,500-seat ...

in London. In both the Morris and the Waltz adaptations, the characters are each portrayed by both a singer and a dancer, with the dancers onstage and the singers performing from the side of the stage or the

orchestra pit An orchestra pit is the area in a theater (usually located in a lowered area in front of the stage) in which musicians perform. Orchestral pits are utilized in forms of theatre that require music (such as opera and ballet) or in cases when incide ...

Roles

Synopsis

Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland - The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas - Google Art Project

Act 1

''Dido's court'' The opera opens with Dido in her court with her attendants. Belinda is trying to cheer up Dido, but Dido is full of sorrow, saying 'Peace and I are strangers grown'. Belinda believes the source of this grief to be the Trojan Aeneas, and suggests that Carthage's troubles could be resolved by a marriage between the two. Dido and Belinda talk for a time: Dido fears that her love will make her a weak monarch, but Belinda and the Second Woman reassure her that "The hero loves as well." Aeneas enters the court, and is at first received coldly by Dido, but she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage.

Act 2

''Scene 1: The cave of the Sorceress'' The Sorceress/Sorcerer is plotting the destruction of Carthage and its queen, and summons companions to help with evil plans. The plan is to send her "trusted elf" disguised as Mercury, someone to whom Aeneas will surely listen, to tempt him to leave Dido and sail to Italy. This would leave Dido heartbroken, and she would surely die. The chorus join in with terrible laughter, and the Enchantresses decide to conjure up a storm to make Dido and her train leave the grove and return to the palace. When the spell is prepared, the witches vanish in a thunderclap. ''Scene 2: A grove during the middle of a hunt'' Dido and Aeneas are accompanied by their train. They stop at the grove to take in its beauty. A lot of action is going on, with attendants carrying goods from the hunt and a picnic possibly taking place, and Dido and Aeneas are together within the activity. This is all stopped when Dido hears distant thunder, prompting Belinda to tell the servants to prepare for a return to shelter as soon as possible. As every other character leaves the stage, Aeneas is stopped by the Sorceress's elf, who is disguised as Mercury. This pretend Mercury brings the command of Jove that Aeneas is to wait no longer in beginning his task of creating a new Troy on Latin soil. Aeneas consents to the wishes of what he believes are the gods, but is heart-broken that he will have to leave Dido. He then goes off-stage to prepare for his departure from Carthage.

Act 3

''The harbour at Carthage'' Preparations are being made for the departure of the Trojan fleet. The sailors sing a song, which is followed shortly by the Sorceress and her companions' sudden appearance. The group is pleased at how well their plan has worked, and the Sorceress sings a solo describing her further plans for the destruction of Aeneas "on the ocean". All the characters begin to clear the stage after a dance in three sections, and then disperse. ''The palace'' Dido and Belinda enter, shocked at Aeneas’ disappearance. Dido is distraught and Belinda comforts her. Suddenly Aeneas returns, but Dido is full of fear before Aeneas speaks, and his words only serve to confirm her suspicions. She derides his reasons for leaving, and even when Aeneas says he will defy the gods and not leave Carthage, Dido rejects him for having once thought of leaving her. After Dido forces Aeneas to leave, she states that "Death must come when he is gone." The opera and Dido's life both slowly come to a conclusion, as the Queen of Carthage sings her last aria, "When I am laid in Earth", also known as "Dido's Lament." The chorus and orchestra then conclude the opera once Dido is dead by ordering the "cupids to scatter roses on her tomb, soft and gentle as her heart. Keep here your watch, and never, never part."Synopsis based on Kobbé (1987) pp. 1010–1014.

Recordings

The first complete recording of the opera was made by

Decca Records Decca Records is a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis (Decca), Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934 by Lewis, Jack Kapp, American Decca's first president, and Milton Rackmil, who later became American ...

in 1935 with Nancy Evans as Dido and Roy Henderson as Aeneas, followed in 1945 by

HMV Sunrise Records and Entertainment, trading as HMV (for His Master's Voice), is a British music and entertainment retailer, currently operating exclusively in the United Kingdom. The first HMV-branded store was opened by the Gramophone Company ...

's release with

Joan Hammond Dame Joan Hilda Hood Hammond, (24 May 191226 November 1996) was an Australian operatic soprano, singing coach and champion golfer. Early life Joan Hilda Hood Hammond was born and baptised in Christchurch, New Zealand. Her father, Samuel Hood, w ...

and

Dennis Noble Dennis Noble (25 September 189814 March 1966) was a noted British baritone and teacher. He appeared in opera, oratorio, musical comedy and song, from the First World War through to the late 1950s. He was renowned for his enunciation and dicti ...

Kirsten Flagstad Kirsten Malfrid Flagstad (12 July 1895 – 7 December 1962) was a Norwegian opera singer, who was the outstanding Wagnerian soprano of her era. Her triumphant debut in New York on 2 February 1935 is one of the legends of opera. Giulio Gatti-Casaz ...

, who had sung the role at the

Mermaid Theatre The Mermaid Theatre was a theatre encompassing the site of Puddle Dock and Curriers' Alley at Blackfriars in the City of London, and the first built in the City since the time of Shakespeare. It was, importantly, also one of the first new thea ...

in London, recorded it in 1951 for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British transnational conglomerate founded in March 1931 in London. At the time of its break-up in 201 ...

with

Thomas Hemsley Thomas Jeffrey Hemsley, CBE (12 April 192711 April 2013) was an English baritone. Hemsley was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, and attended Ashby de la Zouch Grammar School. He took a degree in natural sciences from Brasenose College, Oxford. ...

as Aeneas. ''Dido and Aeneas'' has been recorded many times since the 1960s with Dido sung by

mezzo-soprano A mezzo-soprano or mezzo (; ; meaning "half soprano") is a type of classical female singing voice whose vocal range lies between the soprano and the contralto voice types. The mezzo-soprano's vocal range usually extends from the A below middle C ...

s such as

Janet Baker Dame Janet Abbott Baker (born 21 August 1933) is an English mezzo-soprano best known as an opera, concert, and lieder singer.Blyth, Alan, "Baker, Dame Janet (Abbott)" in Sadie, Stanley, ed.; John Tyrell; exec. ed. (2001). ''New Grove Dictionar ...

(1961),

Tatiana Troyanos Tatiana Troyanos (September 12, 1938 – August 21, 1993) was an American mezzo-soprano of Greek and German descent, remembered as "one of the defining singers of her generation" (''Boston Globe''). Her voice, "a paradoxical voice — larger ...

(1968),

Teresa Berganza Teresa Berganza Vargas OAXS (16 March 1933 – 13 May 2022) was a Spanish mezzo-soprano. She is most closely associated with roles such as Rossini's Rosina and La Cenerentola, and later Bizet's Carmen, admired for her technical virtuosity, m ...

(1986),

Anne Sofie von Otter Anne Sofie von Otter (born 9 May 1955) is a Swedish mezzo-soprano. Her repertoire encompasses lieder, operas, oratorios and also rock and pop songs. Early life Von Otter was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Her father was Göran von Otter, a Swe ...

(1989) and

Susan Graham Susan Graham (born July 23, 1960) is an American mezzo-soprano. Life and career Susan Graham was born in Roswell, New Mexico on July 23, 1960. Raised in Midland, Texas, Graham is a graduate of Texas Tech University and the Manhattan School o ...

(2003). In addition to Joan Hammond and Kirsten Flagstad,

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

s who have recorded the role include

Victoria de los Ángeles Victoria de los Ángeles López García (1 November 192315 January 2005) was a Catalan Spanish operatic lyric soprano and recitalist whose career began after the Second World War and reached its height in the years from the mid-1950s to the mid- ...

(1965),

Emma Kirkby Dame Carolyn Emma Kirkby, (; born 26 February 1949) is an English soprano and early music specialist. She has sung on over 100 recordings. Education and early career Kirkby was educated at Hanford School, Sherborne School for Girls in Dors ...

(1981),

Jessye Norman Jessye Mae Norman (September 15, 1945 – September 30, 2019) was an American opera singer and recitalist. She was able to perform dramatic soprano roles, but refused to be limited to that voice type. A commanding presence on operatic, concert ...

(1986),

Catherine Bott Catherine Bott (born 11 September 1952) is a British soprano and a Baroque specialist. She has also pursued a broadcasting career. Following her studies at The King's High School For Girls and Guildhall School of Music and Drama, with Arthur R ...

(1992),

Lynne Dawson Lynne Dawson (born 3 June 1953) is an English soprano. She came to great prominence through her performance as a soloist in ''Libera me'' from Requiem (Verdi), Verdi's Requiem with the BBC Singers at Princess Diana's Funeral of Diana, Princess o ...

(1998), and

Evelyn Tubb Evelyn Tubb is an English soprano, and long-time member of The Consort of Musicke and one of the world's greatest early music specialists, known for her innovative and original performances. Life She originally comes from the Isle of Wight and s ...

(2004). Beginning with two pioneering recordings of the work with original instruments: Joel Cohen's 1979 recording with the Boston Camerata, on Harmonia Mundi, and

Andrew Parrott Andrew Parrott (born 10 March 1947) is a British conductor, perhaps best known for his pioneering "historically informed performances" of pre-classical music. He conducts a wide range of repertoire, including contemporary music. He conducted th ...

's 1981 recording for Chandos with the

Taverner Consort and Players The Taverner Choir, Consort and Players is a British music ensemble which specialises in the performance of Early and Baroque music. The ensemble is made up of a Baroque orchestra (the Players), a vocal consort (the Consort) and a Choir. Performer ...

, there was an increasing preference for a more genuine period sound. Further recordings by conductors and ensembles using this approach include those by

Christopher Hogwood Christopher Jarvis Haley Hogwood (10 September 194124 September 2014) was an English conductor, harpsichordist, writer, and musicologist. Founder of the early music ensemble the Academy of Ancient Music, he was an authority on historically info ...

and the

Academy of Ancient Music The Academy of Ancient Music (AAM) is a British period-instrument orchestra based in Cambridge, England. Founded by harpsichordist Christopher Hogwood in 1973, it was named after an 18th-century organisation of the same name (originally the A ...

, William Christie and Les Arts Florissants (1986);

Trevor Pinnock Trevor David Pinnock (born 16 December 1946 in Canterbury, England) is a British harpsichordist and conductor. He is best known for his association with the period-performance orchestra The English Concert, which he helped found and directe ...

and

The English Concert The English Concert is a baroque orchestra playing on period instruments based in London. Founded in 1972 and directed from the harpsichord by Trevor Pinnock for 30 years, it is now directed by harpsichordist Harry Bicket. Nadja Zwiener has be ...

(1989);

René Jacobs René Jacobs (born 30 October 1946) is a Belgian musician. He came to fame as a countertenor, but later in his career he became known as a conductor of baroque and classical opera. Biography Countertenor Born in Ghent, Jacobs began his music ...

and the

Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment The Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment (OAE) is a British period instrument orchestra. The OAE is a resident orchestra of the Southbank Centre, London, associate orchestra at Glyndebourne Festival Opera Artistic Associate at Kings Place, and h ...

(1998);

Emmanuelle Haïm Emmanuelle Haïm (; born 11 May 1962) is a French harpsichordist and conductor with a particular interest in early music and Baroque music. Early life, student and assistant years Haïm was born and grew up in Paris, and was raised Catholic al ...

and Le Concert d'Astrée (2003); and

Predrag Gosta Predrag Gosta ( Cyrillic: ''Предраг Госта'') is a Serbian-American conductor, harpsichordist, and baritone. Life and career Predrag Gosta was born in Belgrade, Yugoslavia (present day Serbia), on 14 January 1972. His father was bor ...

and New Trinity Baroque (2004). The Haïm recording with

as Dido and

Ian Bostridge Ian Charles Bostridge CBE (born 25 December 1964) is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera and lieder singer. Early life and education Bostridge was born in London, the son of Leslie Bostridge and Lillian (née Clark). ...

as Aeneas was nominated for the

Best Opera Recording The Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by m ...

in the

2005 Grammy Awards The 47th Annual Grammy Awards were held on February 13, 2005, at the Staples Center in Los Angeles honoring the best in music for the recording of the year beginning from October 1, 2003, through September 30, 2004. They were hosted by Queen Lat ...

. Another notable recording dates from 1994, with The Scholars Baroque Ensemble and Kym Amps as Dido. Several performances of the opera have been filmed and are available on DVD, most recently the 2008 performance at the

Opéra-Comique The Opéra-Comique is a Paris opera company which was founded around 1714 by some of the popular theatres of the Parisian fairs. In 1762 the company was merged with – and for a time took the name of – its chief rival, the Comédie-Italienne ...

in Paris conducted by William Christie and directed by

Deborah Warner Deborah Warner (born 12 May 1959) is a British director of theatre and opera, known for her interpretations of the works of Shakespeare, Bertolt Brecht, Benjamin Britten and Henrik Ibsen. Early life Warner was born in Oxfordshire, England, to ...

(FRA Musica FRA001)Jordy (9 December 2009) and the 2009 performance at London's

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

conducted by

and directed by

Wayne McGregor Wayne McGregor, CBE (born 12 March 1970) is a multi award-winning British choreographer and director. He is the Artistic Director of Studio Wayne McGregor and Resident Choreographer of The Royal Ballet. McGregor was appointed Commander of the ...

(OpusArte OA1018D). The Mark Morris dance version of the opera is also preserved on DVD (recorded 1995, Image Entertainment 8741) as is the dance version by Sasha Waltz (recorded 2005, Arthaus Musik 101311).

Leopold Stokowski Leopold Anthony Stokowski (18 April 1882 – 13 September 1977) was a British conductor. One of the leading conductors of the early and mid-20th century, he is best known for his long association with the Philadelphia Orchestra and his appeara ...

made a string orchestra arrangement of "Dido's Lament". Others who have recorded it include

Matthias Bamert Matthias Bamert (born July 5, 1942 in Ersigen, Canton of Bern) is a Swiss composer and conductor. In addition to studies in Switzerland, Bamert studied music in Darmstadt and in Paris, with Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen, and their influ ...

José Serebrier José Serebrier (born 3 December 1938) is a Uruguayan conductor and composer. He is one of the most recorded conductors of his generation. Early life Serebrier was born in Montevideo to Russian and Polish parents of Jewish extraction. He fi ...

Richard Egarr Richard Egarr (born 7 August 1963) is a British conductor and keyboard player. Biography Born in Lincoln, Egarr received his early musical training as a choirboy at York Minster and at Chetham's School of Music. He was an organ scholar at Clar ...

and

Iona Brown Iona Brown, OBE, (7 January 19415 June 2004) was a British violinist and conductor. Early life and education Elizabeth Iona Brown was born in Salisbury and was educated at Cranborne Chase School, Dorset. Her parents, Antony and Fiona, were b ...

References

Notes Sources *Boyden, Matthew ''et al.''
"Dido and Aeneas", ''The rough guide to opera''
3rd edition, Rough Guides, 2002. For a more detailed discussion of "early instrument Dido recordings, consult https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/30/arts/music-raising-the-stakes-in-a-purcell-opera.html *Darrell, R.D.
''The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music''
The Gramophone Shop, Inc., 1936 *Harris, Ellen T.
''Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas''
Oxford University Press, 1990. *Holman, Peter, ''Henry Purcell'' (Oxford, 1995). *Holst, Imogen, "Purcell's librettist, Nahum Tate
''Henry Purcell 1659–1695 Essays On His Music''
Imogen Holst (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1959, pp. 35–41 *Jordy, Catherine
"Flamboyante tragédie au Comique"
''Forum Opéra'', 9 December 2009 (accessed 19 January 2010, in French) *Keates, Jonathan
''Purcell: A biography''
Northeastern University Press, 1996. *Gustav Kobbé, Kobbé, Gustav, ''The Definitive Kobbé's Book of Opera.'' George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood, The Earl of Harewood (ed.), 1st American ed., G.P. Putnam's and Sons, 1987, pp. 1010–1014. *Mark Morris Dance Group
Work details: ''Dido and Aeneas''
*Curtis Price, Price, Curtis, "Dido and Aeneas", ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, Grove Music Online'', ed. L. Macy (accessed 31 December 2005)
grovemusic.com
(subscription access) *Price, Curtis
''Henry Purcell and the London stage''
Cambridge University Press, 1984. *Price, Curtis and Irena Cholij, ‘Dido's Bass Sorceress’, ''The Musical Times'', Vol. 127 (Nov. 1986), 615–618 *Pinnock, Andrew, ‘Deus ex machina: A royal witness to the court origin of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas.’ Early Music, 40 (2012): 265–278. *Pinnock, Andrew, ‘Which Genial Day? More on the court origin of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas, with a shortlist of dates for its possible performance before King Charles II’, Early Music 43 (2015), 199–212 *Purcell, Henry, ''Dido and Aeneas'' (vocal score), Edward Dent and Ellen Harris (eds.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991. *Purcell, Henry, ''Dido and Aeneas'' (vocal and full score), Margaret Laurie and Thurston Dart (eds.), Novello, 1971 *Walker, Susan
"Every inch a diva. Opposites attract dancer Mark Morris. They define his life and his art"
''Toronto Star, 9 July 1995, p. C1 * *White, Bryan, 'Letter from Aleppo: dating the Chelsea School performance of ''Dido and Aeneas, ''Early Music'' 37 (2009), 417–428. https://doi.org/10.1093/em/cap041 *White, Eric Walter, "New Light on ''Dido and Aeneas''
''Henry Purcell 1659–1695 Essays On His Music''
Imogen Holst (ed.), Oxford University Press, 1959, pp. 14–34 *Wood, Bruce and Andrew Pinnock, Unscarr'd by turning times'? The dating of Purcell's ''Dido and Aeneas''," ''Early Music'' 20 (1992), 372–90

External links

Analysis in French

from a recording by the New Trinity Baroque orchestra
Internet Movie Database listing
*
BBC Radio 4 programme about "Dido's Lament"
*
The Purcell SocietyPublic domain recording, 1951
(mp3 files) on www.liberliber.it.
Free Online opera guide on Purcell's Dido and Aeneas
An opera portrait with synopsis, commentary, music analysis, anecdotes {{DEFAULTSORT:Dido And Eneas Operas by Henry Purcell English-language operas Operas 1688 operas Operas based on classical mythology Operas based on the Aeneid Operas set in Africa Music based on poems Cultural depictions of Dido Phoenicia in fiction