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.^[1] Download high resolution version (828x1056, 128 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... Download high resolution version (828x1056, 128 KB) This image has been released into the public domain by the copyright holder, its copyright has expired, or it is ineligible for copyright. ... The Teatro alla Scala in Milan. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi  Population    - 2005 est. ... Baroque music describes an era and a set of styles of European classical music which were in widespread use between approximately 1600 to 1750 (see Dates of classical music eras for a discussion of the problems inherent in defining the beginning and end points). ... Henry Purcell Henry Purcell (IPA: [1]; September 10 (?) [2], 1659–November 21, 1695), a Baroque composer, is generally considered to be one of Englands greatest composers—indeed, he has often been called Englands finest native composer. ... Nahum Tate (1652 – July 30, 1715) was an Anglo-Irish poet and lyricist. ... Events Louis XIV of France passed the Code Noir, allowing the full use of slaves in the French colonies. ...

It is based on a story from the fourth book of Virgil's Aeneid,^[1] 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. A sculpture of Virgil, probably from the 1st century AD. For other uses, see Virgil (disambiguation). ... The Aeneid (IPA English pronunciation: ; in Latin Aeneis, pronounced — the title is Greek in form: genitive case Aeneidos): is a Latin epic written by Virgil in the 1st century BC (between 29 and 19 BC) that tells the legendary story of Aeneas, a Trojan who traveled to Italy where he... Bold text Carthage Ruins of Roman-era Carthage For other uses, see Carthage (disambiguation). ... Aeneid, Book I, Death of Dido. ... Walls of the excavated city of Troy Troy (Ancient Greek Τροία Troia, also Ίλιον Ilion; Latin: Troia, Ilium) is a legendary city and center of the Trojan War, as described in the Trojan War cycle, especially in the Iliad, one of the two epic poems attributed to Homer. ... Aeneas flees burning Troy, Federico Barocci, 1598. ... Nickname: The Eternal City Motto: SPQR: Senatus PopulusQue Romanus Location of the city of Rome (yellow) within the Province of Rome (red) and region of Lazio (grey) Coordinates: Region Lazio Province Province of Rome Founded 8th century BC Mayor Walter Veltroni Area    - City 1,285 km²  (496. ...

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.(^[2] pg. iv) It is a monumental work in the Baroque opera, remembered as one of Purcell's (and perhaps England's) foremost operatic works^[1]. 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.^[1] Henry Purcell 1659 - 1695 John Dryden 1631 - 1700 King Arthur, subtitled The British Worthy, is an opera of five acts, it was first performed at the Queens Theatre, Dorset Garden, London, in early summer of 1691. ... The Fairy-Queen (Z.629) is a masque or semi-opera by Henry Purcell. ... John Blow (1649 - October 1, 1708) was an English composer and organist. ... A painting of Venus and Adonis by Cornelis van Haarlem, 1614 Venus and Adonis is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the English Baroque composer John Blow, composed c. ...

Characters

• Dido - Queen of Carthage - soprano ^[3]
• Belinda - Dido's handmaid - light soprano
• Aeneas - Trojan Prince - tenor ^[4]
• 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.

Look up soprano in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... A handmaiden (or handmaid) is a female assistant (or slave) that waits at hand, they can be considered a female servant, or attendant. ... In music, a tenor is a male singer with a high vocal range. ... A mezzo-soprano (meaning medium soprano in Italian) is a female singer with a range usually extending from the A below middle C to the F an eleventh above middle C. Mezzo-sopranos generally have a darker (or lower) vocal tone than sopranos, and their vocal range is between that... A Countertenor is an adult male singer who uses the falsetto part of his voice more than usual to sing a higher range than the typical adult male voice. ... This article treats Mercury in cult practice and in archaic Rome. ... This article is about choirs, musical ensembles containing singers. ...

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.^[1] William III of England (The Hague,14 November 1650 – Hampton Court, 8 March 1702; also known as William II of Scotland and William III of Orange) was a Dutch aristocrat and a Protestant Prince of Orange from his birth, Stadtholder of the United Netherlands from 28 June 1672, King of... Mary II (30 April 1662–28 December 1694) reigned as Queen of England and Ireland from 13 February 1689, and as Queen of Scotland (as Mary II of Scotland) from 11 April 1689 until her death. ... The Glorious Revolution was the overthrow of James II of England in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians and the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange). ...

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.^[1]

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. James VII of Scotland and James II of England (14 October 1633 – 16 September 1701) became King of Scots, King of England, and King of Ireland on 6 February 1685, and Duke of Normandy on 31 December 1660. ...

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.^[1] 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.^[1] The original instrumentation is not at all clear, but it certainly included a continuo part.^[2] 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.(^[2], pg. vi) In music, a ground bass is a bass part or bassline that repeats continually, as an ostinato, while the melody and possibly harmony over it change. ... Klaus Nomi was born Klaus Sperber in Essen, Germany; his birthday is commonly observed as January 24, 1944, though the director of The Nomi Song stated at the New York City premiere of the documentary that an exact birthday for Klaus is unknown. ... Ane Brun Ane Brun, real name Ane Brunvoll (born 10 March 1976) is a norwegian singer / songwriter, born and raised in Molde. ... Jeff Buckley (November 17, 1966 – May 29, 1997), born Jeffrey Scott Buckley and raised as Scottie Moorhead, was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist. ... Figured bass, or thoroughbass, is a kind of integer musical notation used to indicate intervals, chords, and nonchord tones, in relation to a bass note. ... Imogen Holst (April 12, 1907-March 9, 1984) was a British composer and conductor, and the only child of composer Gustav Holst. ... Edward Benjamin Britten, Baron Britten, OM CH (November 22, 1913 – December 4, 1976) was a British composer, conductor, and pianist. ...

Media

Image File history File links Stay,_Prince_and_hear. ... Software development stages In computer programming, development stage terminology expresses how the development of a piece of software has progressed and how much further development it may require. ...

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^[5]
• Emma Kirkby (Dido), Judith Nelson (soprano), David Thomas (bass), Taverner Consort and Players conducted by Andrew Parrott, Chandos CHAN 8306.

• Discography

Janet Baker as Mary Stuart The British mezzo-soprano Janet Baker (born August 21, 1933) is a well-known opera, concert, and lieder singer. ... The English Chamber Orchestra is a small (hence chamber) orchestra based in London. ... A conductor conducting a band at a ceremony A conductors score and batons Conducting is the act of directing a musical performance by way of visible gestures. ... See also: 1960 in music, other events of 1961, 1962 in music, 1960s in music and the list of years in music // Events January 15 - Motown Records signs The Supremes January 20 - Francis Poulencs Gloria is premiered in Boston February 12 - The Miracles Shop Around becomes Motowns first... It has been suggested that Decca Music Group be merged into this article or section. ... See also: 2000 in music (UK) other events of 2000 list of years in music 2000s in music // John Tavener is knighted in the New Years Honours List. ... Susan Graham (1960– ) is a mezzo-soprano classical singer, born in Roswell, New Mexico, USA. Her roles include Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking, and Octavian in Der Rosenkavalier. ... Ian Bostridge was born on Christmas Day 1964. ... Felicity Joan Palmer (born April 6, 1944) is an English soprano. ... Emmanuelle Haïm is a French harpsichordist with an international reputation and impressive discography. ... Emma Kirkby (soprano) is recognised as one of the worlds greatest early music specialists. ... Taverner Consort and Players - a period instrument ensemble, orchestra and chamber choir, founded and directed by Andrew Parrott. ... Andrew Parrott is a British conductor, founder and director of Taverner Consort and Players, a period instrument ensemble, choir and orchestra based in London. ...

Notes and references

Curtis Price studied at Harvard University, where he received his PhD. He moved to the UK in 1981 to teach at Kings College London, latterly as Head of Department. ... The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians, considered by most scholars to be the best general reference source on the subject in the English language. ... December 31 is the 365th day of the year (366th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Baritone (French: baryton; German: Bariton; Italian: baritono) is most commonly the type of male voice that lies between bass and tenor. ...

See also

• Listing of movements