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Dido and Aeneas

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Poetry & Opera

   The Composer, Henry Purcell
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   The Composer, Henry Purcell

   Dido and Aeneas is an opera by the English Baroque composer Henry
   Purcell, from a libretto by Nahum Tate. It was first performed in the
   spring of 1689 and hence is given catalogue number Z. 626. It comprises
   three acts and lasts about an hour.

   It is based on a story from the fourth book of Virgil's Aeneid, of the
   legendary Queen of Carthage Dido and the Trojan refugee Aeneas. When
   Aeneas and his crew are shipwrecked in Carthage, he and the queen fall
   in love. However, Aeneas must soon leave to found Rome. Dido cannot
   live without him and awaits death.

   This work is somewhat problematic, since no score in Purcell's hand is
   extant, and the only seventeenth century source is a libretto, possibly
   from the original performance. The difficulty is that no later sources
   follow the act divisions of the libretto, and the music to the prologue
   is lost. Part of this stems from the practice of the time of using such
   entertainments to add spice to another piece, such as a play, breaking
   up the original work and only using parts of it, rather than putting it
   on as a complete work.( pg. iv) It is a monumental work in the Baroque
   opera, remembered as one of Purcell's (and perhaps England's) foremost
   operatic works. It may be considered Purcell's only true opera, as
   compared with his other musical dramatic works such as King Arthur and
   The Fairy-Queen, as well as the first English opera. It owes much to
   John Blow's Venus and Adonis, including structure and overall effect.

Characters

     * Dido - Queen of Carthage - soprano
     * Belinda - Dido's handmaid - light soprano
     * Aeneas - Trojan Prince - tenor
     * Sorceress - mezzo-soprano ( counter-tenor)
     * Spirit - in form of Mercury - soprano (counter-tenor)
     * First Sailor - tenor
     * First Witch - soprano
     * Second Witch - soprano
     * Second Woman - mezzo-soprano
     * Chorus - SATB, all members at one point or another represent
       courtiers, witches, cupids, and sailors.

Libretto

   Originally based on Nahum Tate's own play Brutus of Alba, or The
   Enchanted Lovers (1678), the opera is likely, at least to some extent,
   allegorical. The prologue refers to the joy of a marriage between two
   monarchs, which could refer to the marriage between William and Mary
   after the Glorious Revolution of 1688.

          In a poem of about 1686 Tate himself 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 symbolizes 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 lighter scenes,
   such as when the First Sailor sings "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."

Score

   The first of the arias to be published separately was "Ah, Belinda" in
   Orpheus Britannicus. The most famous aria of the work is Dido's lament,
   When I am laid in earth. Both arias are formed on a lamento ground
   bass. Dido's lament has been performed or recorded even by artists far
   from the typical operatic school such as Klaus Nomi (as "Death"), Ane
   Brun and Jeff Buckley. The music is thought by some to be too simple
   for Purcell in 1689, but this may simply reflect that the intended
   performers were schoolchildren. The original instrumentation is not at
   all clear, but it certainly included a continuo part. In answer to this
   Imogen Holst and Benjamin Britten put together an edition of the opera
   with a realization by Britten. Now there are a number of editions with
   realizations, which makes the piece much more accessible for amateur
   performance.(, pg. vi)

Recordings

   Recordings include:
     * Dame Janet Baker (Dido), Patricia Clark(Belinda), Raimund Herincx
       (Aeneas), supporting soloists, St. Anthony Singers, English Chamber
       Orchestra, Anthony Lewis, conductor. Recorded 1961 and re-released
       on Decca in 2000.
     * Susan Graham (Dido), Ian Bostridge (Aeneas), Camilla Tilling
       (Belinda), Felicity Palmer (Sorceress), David Daniels (Spirit),
       Cécile de Boever (Second Woman), Paul Agnew (A Sailor), Emmanuelle
       Haïm (conductor), European Voices, Le Concert d'Astrée. Virgin
       Veritas 45605
     * Emma Kirkby (Dido), Judith Nelson (soprano), David Thomas (bass),
       Taverner Consort and Players conducted by Andrew Parrott, Chandos
       CHAN 8306.

     * Discography

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