This is a discography of ''

Dido and Aeneas ''Dido and Aeneas'' (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was com ...

'', 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 libr ...

by Henry Purcell. The first known performance was 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 in the spring of 1689.

Recordings

Critical attention

In ''Opera on Record'', ed.

Alan Blyth Geoffrey Alan Blyth (27 July 1929 – 14 August 2007) was an English music critic, author, and musicologist who was particularly known for his writings within the field of opera. He was a specialist on singers and singing. Born in London, Blyth ...

(Hutchinson & Co./Beaufort Books, Inc., 1983), Graham Sheffield (pp. 11–25) was one of the first authors to supply a comparative discography, praising, for period authenticity, the recordings by Cohen (1978) and Parrott (1981). He found flaws in nearly every recording, but also particular assets, e.g. Roy Henderson in the 1935 recording,

Isobel Baillie Isobel Baillie, (9 March 189524 September 1983), ''née'' Isabella Douglas Baillie, was a Scottish soprano. She made a local success in Manchester, where she was brought up, and in 1923 made a successful London debut. Her career, encouraged by ...

1945 1945 marked the end of World War II and the fall of Nazi Germany and the Empire of Japan. It is also the only year in which Nuclear weapon, nuclear weapons Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, have been used in combat. Events Below, ...

, the conducting of

Geraint Jones Geraint Owen Jones (born 14 July 1976) is a former cricketer who played for both England and Papua New Guinea. Born to Welsh parents in Papua New Guinea, between 2004 and 2006 he was the first-choice wicketkeeper for the England cricket team. ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, several aspects of

Lewis Lewis may refer to: Names * Lewis (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Lewis (surname), including a list of people with the surname Music * Lewis (musician), Canadian singer * "Lewis (Mistreated)", a song by Radiohead ...

1961 Events January * January 3 ** United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower announces that the United States has severed diplomatic and consular relations with Cuba (Cuba–United States relations are restored in 2015). ** Aero Flight 311 (K ...

recording, Peter Glossop in 1965, Mackerras' theatrical instinct in

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 5 ** Spain and Romania sign an agreement in Paris, establishing full consular and ...

, and Colin Davis' "immense vitality and musicianship" in

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...

; apart from Veasey's Dido, he finds sufficient quality in all the vocal contributions to recommend this last as the most important 'non-period' recording. The Haïm recording ( 2004 in US) received a highly complimentary review from

Allan Kozinn Allan Kozinn (born July 28, 1954) is an American journalist, music critic, and teacher. Kozinn received bachelor's degrees in music and journalism from Syracuse University in 1976. He began freelancing as a critic and music feature writer for '' ...

, saying it surpassed Parrott's 1981 production, the latter " til now, the best". Kozinn noted orchestration and

vocal range Vocal range is the range of pitches that a human voice can phonate. A common application is within the context of singing, where it is used as a defining characteristic for classifying singing voices into voice types. It is also a topic of st ...

innovations by Haïm, as well as strong major and minor cast members. Kozinn, Allan
"Music; Poor Dido Finally Gets a Real Man"
''

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 d ...

'', March 7, 2004. Retrieved 2011-07-26.

References

Notes Sources
Hoasm.org Purcell discography
accessed 6 January 2010

accessed 14 January 2010
Prestoclassical discography
accessed 7 January 2010
Tore Frantzvåg Steenslid's full discography
accessed 7 January 2010 {{Portal bar, Opera Opera discographies Operas by Henry Purcell