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Overview
Synopsis
Based on Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid, Dido and Aeneas is Purcell’s only true opera, and his first composition which was written to be sung throughout. Having its first performance at the Josias Priest’s Boarding School for Girls in 1687, it is the perfect opera for student casts, as many of the vocal ranges are narrow and the voice-types are particularly flexible.
Dido, the queen of Carthage, falls in love with Aeneas, the Trojan prince, whilst offering him safe harbour on his journey home. A Sorceress, who hates Dido, plots to separate them by creating a storm and sending one of her servants, disguised as Mercury, to urge Aeneas to return home straight away, forsaking Dido. Aeneas readies his sailors and lets Dido know he must leave. Dido cannot bear losing him and kills herself, after offering one of the most famous English arias, Dido’s Lament (“When I am laid in earth”). In true Baroque style, the action is delivered in short recitative sections interspersed with songs, choruses, and dances.
Show Information
- Music
- Henry Purcell
- Libretto
- Nahum Tate
- Category
- Opera
- Age Guidance
- Thirteen Plus (PG-13)
- Number of Acts
- 3
- First Produced
- 1687
- Genres
- Drama, Historical/Biographical, Tragedy
- Settings
- Multiple Settings
- Time & Place
- Carthage, Ancient Times
- Cast Size
- medium
- Orchestra Size
- Small
- Dancing
- Some Dance
- Licensor
- None/royalty-free
- Ideal For
- All-Female Cast, College/University, Mostly Female Cast, Professional Opera, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Plot
Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Lead |
Male |
Tenor, Baritone |
|
|
Lead |
Female |
Mezzo-Soprano |
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Countertenor, Baritone |
|
|
Featured |
Female |
Soprano |
|
|
Featured |
Male |
Tenor |
|
|
Ensemble |
Either Gender |
Soprano, Mezzo-Soprano, Alto, Tenor, Baritone, Bass |
Songs
Overture
Act 1
Scene: The Palace
No. 1 Song and Chorus ‘Shake the cloud from off your brow’ - Belinda
No. 2 Song ‘Ah! Belinda I am pressed with torment’ - Dido
No. 3 Recit ‘Grief increases by concealing’ - Belinda, Dido
No. 4 Chorus ‘When monarchs unite’
No. 5 Recit ‘Whence could so much virtue spring’ - Dido
No. 6 Duet and Chorus ‘Fear no danger to ensue’ - Belinda, 2nd Woman
No 7. Recit ‘See, see your royal guest appears’ - Belinda, Aeneas, Dido
No. 8 Chorus ‘Cupid only throws the dart’
No. 9 Recit ‘If not for mine, for Empire’s sake’ - Aeneas
No. 10 Air ‘Pursue thy conquest, Love’ - Belinda
No. 11 Chorus ‘To the hills and the vales’
No. 12 The Triumphing Dance
Scene: The Cave
No. 13 Prelude for the witches ‘Wayward sisters’ - Sorceress, 1st Witch
No. 14 Witches Chorus ‘Harm’s our delight’
No. 15 Recit ‘The Queen of Carthage’ - Sorceress No. 16 Chorus ‘Ho Ho Ho’
No. 17 Recit ‘Ruin’d ere the set of sun’ - 1st Witch, 2nd Witch, Sorceress
No. 18 Chorus ‘Ho Ho Ho’
No. 19 Duet ‘But, ere we this perform’ - 1st Witch, 2nd Witch
No. 20 Chorus ‘In our deep vaulted cell’
No. 21 Echo dance of the furies
Act 2
No. 22 Ritornelle
Scene: The Grove
No. 23 Song and Chorus ‘Thanks to these lonesome vales’ - Belinda
No. 24 Song ‘Oft she visits this loved mountain’ - Attendant
No. 25 Recit ‘Behold, upon my bended spear’ - Aeneas, Dido
No. 26 Song and Chorus ‘Haste, haste to town’ - Belinda
No. 27 Recit ‘Stay Prince!’ - Spirit, Aeneas
Act 3
No. 28 Prelude and Chorus ‘Come away, fellow sailors’ - 1st Sailor
No. 29 The Sailor’s Dance
No. 30 Recit ‘See, see, the flags and streamers curling’ - Sorceress, 1st Witch, 2nd Witch
Song ‘Our next motion must be to storm’ - Sorceress
No. 31 Chorus ‘Destruction’s our delight’
No. 32 The Witches’ Dance
No. 33 Recit ‘Your counsel, all is urg’d in vain’ - Dido, Belinda, Aeneas
No. 34 Recit ‘But death, alas! I cannot shun’ - Dido
No. 35 Chorus ‘Great minds against themselves conspire’
No, 36 Recit ‘Thy hand. Belinda’ - Dido
No. 37 Song ‘When I am laid in Earth’ (Dido’s Lament) - Dido
No. 38 Chorus ‘With drooping wings’
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
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Videos
Quizzes
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
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Quote Analysis
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Guide Written By:
Wendy Silvester
Singer and vocal coach based in the UK.