Dido and Æneas:
An opportunity to
review a sampling of
recorded performances
in celebration of the
350th anniversary of
the composer’s birth
By Craig Zeichner
PURCELL’S eNGLISH
OPERA ON DISC
found an
Englishman equal with the
best abroad,” wrote the English poet
John Dryden in 1690 of Henry Purcell
(1659-1695). At the 350th anniversary of
Purcell’s birth in 2009, the many commemorative concerts and recordings
remind us once again of the remarkable
contributions the composer made to
music in a lifetime that lasted only 36
years. His opera sets Purcell above his
lauded countrymen, with perhaps only
Benjamin Britten coming close to presenting a uniquely English opera.
Ironically, we have only one full opera
from Purcell: Dido and Aeneas, a three-act
masterpiece set to a libretto by Nahum
Tate (1652-1715). “It’s the first and oldest all-sung English opera with a permanent place in the international repertoire,” says Dr. Andrew
Pinnock, the honorary secretary of the Henry Purcell
Society. “Dido is a work of
enormous historical importance and a piece of enormously compelling musical
theater.”
Much of Purcell’s music
was connected to his posts
at court. He was appointed
composer-in-ordinary to
King Charles II in 1677 and
wrote for the famed Twenty-Four Violins, later becoming organist of Westminster Abbey (1679) and the Chapel
Royal (1682). He served four monarchs:
Charles II (to 1685), James II (1685-8),
and William and Mary (1689-95). As
would be expected, he composed
anthems, commemorative odes, and
coronation music, as well as songs
and instrumental music. But opera
was yet to come.
There was interest in opera sung in
W
E HAVE AT LENGTH
English throughout the 17th century. The poet Ben Jonson wrote of a
performance of his masque Lovers
Made Men with music by Nicholas
Lanier (1588-1666) that was sung
throughout and incorporated “stylo
recitativo.” Unfortunately, there is no
extant music from the production.
Other instances of all-sung stage works
were documented throughout the Commonwealth period, but again, none of
the music has survived.
The first English opera
John Blow’s Venus and Adonis is sometimes referred to as the first English
opera, but while there are many operatic
elements in the work, it also contains
vestiges of the English masque tradition.
Blow’s (1649-1708) work was performed
Henry Purcell
by John Closterman
(1660–1711).
at court in either 1682 or 1683 and is the
earliest all-sung dramatic work in English
for which we have music. Venus is
referred to as “A Masque for the entertainment of the King” in its earliest
source, and in a printed 1684 libretto it is
called “An Opera Perform’d before the
King. Afterwards at Mr. Josias Priest’s
Boarding School at Chelsey. By Young
Gentlewomen.” Apparently, Charles was
not completely taken with Venus and
requested “something at least like an
Early Music America Fall 2009
31
Opera.” What he got was French-trained
Catalan composer Luis Grabu (fl.16651694) and a bloated tragédie lyrique adaptation of Thomas Dryden’s Albion and
Albanius. Full-sung English opera was
still not a reality.
Purcell’s earliest encounter with the
stage came in 1680, when he wrote
music for a production of Nathaniel
Lee’s (c.1653-1692) tragedy Theodosius.
While the production was not a great
success, Purcell continued to write for
various stage productions over the next
decade. William and Mary scaled back
music at court, so Purcell and other
composers looked to the theater for
additional income.
We don’t know the specifics of Dido’s
birth; scholars are still wrestling over the
date of composition and the occasion
for which it was written. An interesting
place to start is the connection with
Blow’s Venus and Adonis. Pinnock says,
“The relationship between Venus and
Dido is important and formative. Blow
was a more experienced composer from
whom Purcell learned a lot. The two
operas may have been planned as delib-
English composer to blend these elements, but he does so masterfully. The
Italianate gift for word-setting is one of
Dido’s shining glories, and there is no
overlooking the French dances that drive
some of the choruses as well as the
French overture. The English elements
take wing in marvelously declamatory
recitative, lyrical ariosi, and a preponderance of grounds. And, of course, there
are the earthy hornpipes that makes
by all means, as you would Shakespeare, the sailors’ music so quintessentially
but don’t underrate its artistic ambition.” English.
The libretto was by Tate, an Irish
writer who has been rightly damned for Recordings
his “happy ending” revision of ShakeDido and Aeneas has a rich history of
speare’s King Lear. He based the Dido
recordings. Dido, the tragic Carthaginian
libretto on his verse tragedy Brutus of
queen, is a juicy dramatic part, and it has
Alba, or The Enchanted Lovers (1678). Tate attracted an honor roll of great singing
has taken some criticism for his weak
actresses: Kirsten Flagstad, Victoria de
portrayal of Aeneas, but there is much
los Angeles, Janet Baker, Tatiana Troyto commend the libretto. “I am actually
anos, Jessye Norman, and Maria Ewing,
very fond of Tate’s libretto,” says Philto name but a few. With the possible
harmonia Baroque Orchestra director
exception of Baker, we wouldn’t associNicholas McGegan. “Sometimes the lan- ate any of these singers with pre-19thguage seems somewhat inelegant but
century repertoire.
Purcell set it superbly, giving it a wider
The first recording of Dido was led by
vocabulary than a French or Italian
Clarence Raybould in 1936 with mezzo-
erate companion pieces for nearly the
same cast and possibly the same
audience.”
We do know that Dido and Aeneas was
performed at Josias Priest’s Chelsea
boarding school in 1689. Priest (c.16451735) was an English dancing master
and choreographer who ran a boarding
school for gentlewomen. It could have
been written for professional performance before that date, but no records
exist. Pinnock points out, “Dido and
Aeneas is not a mini-opera ‘meant’ for
schoolgirls and carefully respecting their
supposed musical limitations. It’s a piece
for grown-ups – perform it at a school
librettist would have done. For me, this
gives the text greater richness.” Tate’s
also brings the gift of brevity: “It’s a very
successful compression of a long,
mythological narrative into just a few
pages,” says Pinnock. “It’s very well
adapted to the sort of musical setting
Purcell favored.” No single number lasts
more than a few minutes and each passage is packed with drama. The entire
work lasts less than an hour.
The opera also has its share of Italian
and French musical elements. Manuscripts of Italian and French operatic
music had already found their way to
England’s shores. Purcell wasn’t the only
32
Fall 2009 Early Music America
Dido and Aeneas has a rich
history of recordings.
Dido, the tragic Carthaginian
queen, is a juicy dramatic
part, and it has attracted
an honor roll of great
singing actresses.
soprano Nancy Evans singing Dido.
There’s also a post-war performance led
by Constant Lambert with soprano Joan
Hammond in the title role. As far as I
can see, neither recording has been
reissued on CD.
Lots of question marks are attached
to interpretations of Dido. The many
printed editions and recordings of the
work reflect changing views of how
17th-century music is performed. In an
illuminating set of notes to the complete
Dido recording by Emmanuelle Haïm,
Purcell scholars Pinnock and Bruce Wood
write, “Great art invites endless re-interpretation…. No one thinks there is a
‘right’ way to deliver Dido any more. That
does not diminish it in the slightest.”
The list of Dido and Aeneas recordings
currently available from Arkivmusic
stands at 34, including three DVDs. This
isn’t even near the total number of
recordings of the opera ever made.
Every recording mentioned in this story
is currently in print and available for purchase. These recordings are also available
as digital downloads from the usual sites.
For the sake of our survey, I’ve compiled recordings spanning 1952 to 2009.
Some use modern instruments, others
are historically informed; all come from
the U.S. and the U.K. You can have your
Dido and Aeneas many different ways.
Some favorites may be excluded, but we
could not mention them all.
Brünnhilde sings Dido. That’s what
you might think when you consider
Kirsten Flagstad’s 1952 recording, made
for EMI and produced by the legendary
Walter Legge. The sonically superior
Nimbus re-mastering includes the
Immolation scene from Wagner’s Götterdämmerung as filler. Actor-manager
Bernard Miles, the founder of London’s
Elizabethan-styled Mermaid Theatre,
invited Flagstad to sing Dido in English
when the theater opened. Flagstad performed the work before a select audience and, according to legend, was
paid by Miles after each performance
in English oatmeal stout.
Flagstad’s Dido is glorious and is one
of the great treasures of her discography. While her voice is at times…
well…Wagnerian and matronly, the
intensity and wrenching pathos she
brings to the role is devastating. There
are some things to fuss about (she does
slide into notes and her rhythmic sense is
questionable), but her diction is clean
and she pours out rich, full tone
throughout. Her singing of the famous
lament “When I am laid in earth” is
stunning.
The recording features some luxury
casting, with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
singing the roles of Belinda, the Second
Lady, and the Spirit. Schwarzkopf is
actually one of the weakest links in a relatively strong cast. Her heavily accented
English and stiff delivery run against
what makes Belinda a fetching character.
The Mermaid Orchestra’s playing is
Dido on DVD
Maria Ewing (Dido); Rebecca Evans (Belinda);
Karl Daymond (Aeneas); Sally Burgess (Sorceress);
James Bowman (Spirit); Jamie McDougall (Sailor)
Collegium Musicum 90, Richard Hickox, director
Kultur D4242
Jennifer Lane (Dido); Ann
Monoyios (Belinda); Russell Braun (Aeneas)
The Mark Morris Dance Group
Tafelmusik Orchestra and Chorus, Jeanne Lamon, director
Image Entertainment 8741CLDVD
“Dido and Aeneas, Choreographic Opera”
Vocalconsort Berlin; Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin
Attilio Cremonesi, director
Arthaus Musik 101311
For an opera that has enjoyed so many excellent CD recordings, it’s surprising that Dido and
Aeneas has not faired better on DVD. The DVD on Kultur, with Maria Ewing in the title role,
is not bad but is not a revelation either. This is a straightforward presentation filmed on
location in England at Hampton Court. The location is gorgeous and Ewing is a fine actress,
but vocally she leaves much to be desired.
Unfortunately, the clever Mark Morris version is out of print, although it can be rounded
up from a number of vendors on Amazon. Morris choreographs the work as a modern ballet. Each dancer takes on one of the roles, and the camera pairs a singer with a dancer. Jennifer Lane sings both Dido and the Sorceress.
Equally unfortunate is the fact that Sasha Waltz’s choreographed version of the work on
Arthaus Musik is in print. Here’s the quintessential scenario where an artist imposes her
vision on a work without any regard for source material. Check out the YouTube clip of the
underwater scenes, where swimmers thrash about in a giant fish tank while Purcell’s music
is sung.
“When I am laid in earth”
YouTube also offers several video clips of the opera’s most famous aria,
including those compiled below.
Forgive the retro costumes and lock onto Janet Baker for a heartbreaking experience.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_50zj7J50U
Jessye Norman: a huge voice, Wagnerian style.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnzXbx97_UI
Evelyn Tubb’s performance is cool but beautifully vocalized.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4gyQWW_OC_4&feature=related
Stéphanie d’Oustrac has a heartfelt, youthful voice, and the
accompaniment by Les Arts Florissants is glorious.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JOSNacCcj6c
Jennifer Lane sings and Mark Morris dances in this moving snippet.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrzC_KLI8KM
Theremin player Armen Ra plays Dido’s lament.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=x42bK4I3aro&feature=PlayList&p=EE10E24F2D28A00A
&playnext=1&playnext_from=PL&index=5
Early Music America Fall 2009
33
Dido on Disc
Nimbus NI 7956
Kirsten Flagstad (Dido); Elisabeth
Schwarzkopf (Belinda); Thomas Hemsley
(Aeneas); Arda Mandikian (Sorceress);
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (Spirit);
David Lloyd (Sailor)
The Mermaid Singers and Orchestra
Geraint Jones, conductor
Recorded March 1952
Decca 289 466 387-2
Janet Baker (Dido); Patricia Clark (Belinda);
Raimund Herincx (Aeneas); Monica Sinclair
(Sorceress); Dorothy Dorow (Spirit);
John Mitchinson (Sailor)
The St. Anthony Singers; English
Chamber Orchestra
Anthony Lewis, conductor
Recorded October 1961
Chandos CHAN 8306
Emma Kirkby (Dido); Judith Nelson (Belinda);
David Thomas (Aeneas); Jantina Noorman
(Sorceress); Tessa Bonner (Spirit);
Rachel Bevan (Sailor)
Taverner Choir; Taverner Players
Andrew Parrott, director
Recorded 1981
Harmonia Mundi HMU 907110
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson (Dido); Lisa Saffer
(Belinda); Michael Dean (Aeneas); Ellen
Rabiner (Sorceress); Christine Brandes
(Spirit); Paul Elliott (Sailor)
The Choir of Clare College, Cambridge;
Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra
Nicholas McGegan, conductor
Recorded September 1993
Telarc CD-80424
Nancy Maultsby (Dido); Susannah Waters
(Belinda); Russell Braun (Aeneas); Laura
Tucker (Sorceress); Donna Ames (Spirit);
Richard Clement (Sailor)
Boston Baroque
Martin Pearlman, director
Recorded January 1996
Virgin Classics 724354560521
Susan Graham (Dido); Camilla Tilling
(Belinda); Ian Bostridge (Aeneas);
Felicity Palmer (Sorceress); David Daniels
(Spirit); Paul Agnew (Sailor)
Le Concert D’Astrée
Emmanuelle Haïm, director
Recorded 2003
34
Fall 2009 Early Music America
Edition Lilac 200204-2
Evelyn Tubb (Dido, Sorceress);
Julia Matthews (Belinda); Thomas
Meglioranza (Aeneas); Brad Fugate
(Spirit); Kevin Sutton (Sailor)
New Trinity Baroque
Predrag Gosta, director
Recorded 2004
Lyrichord Early Music Series LEMS 8057
Julianne Baird (Dido); Andrea Lauren Brown
(Belinda); Timothy Bentch (Aeneas); Tatyana
Rashkovsky (Sorceress); Fran Bjorneby
Kraemer (Spirit); Dennis Kalup (Sailor)
Ama Deus Baroque Ensemble
Valentin Radu, director
Recorded 2007
Chandos CHAN 0757
Sarah Connolly (Dido); Lucy Crowe (Belinda);
Gerald Finley (Aeneas); Patricia Bardon
(Sorceress); William Purefoy (Spirit);
John Mark Ainsley (Sailor)
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment;
Orchestra of the Age of the Enlightenment
Elizabeth Kenny and Steven Devine,
directors
Recorded June 2008
A few more to consider:
Harmonia Mundi HMC 901683
Lynne Dawson (Dido); Rosemary Joshua
(Belinda); Gerald Finley (Aeneas)
Clare College Chapel Choir; Orchestra of
the Age of Enlightenment
René Jacobs, director
Erato 98477
Véronique Gens (Dido); Sophie Marin-Degor
(Belinda); Nathaniel Berg (Aeneas)
Les Arts Florissants
William Christie, director
Decca L’ Oiseau-Lyre 436992
Catherine Bott (Dido); Emma Kirkby
(Belinda); David Thomas (Aeneas)
Chorus and Orchestra of the
Academy of Ancient Music
Christopher Hogwood, director
Apex 89242
Tatiana Troyanos (Dido); Felicity Palmer
(Belinda); Richard Stilwell (Aeneas)
The English Chamber Orchestra
Raymond Leppard, director
wonderfully crisp, and conductor
Geraint Jones draws some fine choral
singing from the ensemble.
The 1961 Oiseau-Lyre (Decca’s early
music label) recording comes a bit closer
to what we’ve come to expect in 17thcentury performance practice. Dido is
mezzo-soprano Janet Baker, a fine singer
of English Baroque repertoire in one of
the very first recordings of her career.
Baker sings with an airy tone, sounding
more like a soprano than a mezzo. Her
ornamentation is tasteful and her care
with Purcell’s text-setting is superb.
Every word counts when Baker sings it,
and this raises the sense of anguish; by
the time we come to her final lament,
the emotional weight is almost too
much to bear.
Patricia Clark’s Belinda is strong
and crystal clear, but the balance of
the cast is average. Raimund Herincx
does nothing to dissuade the notion
that Aeneas is an eminently forgettable
role. Monica Sinclair’s Sorceress is
hammy and overdone. The Sailors sound
not like rough and ready seafarers but
like an Oxford rowing crew paddling
up the Thames. I am very fond,
however, of the crisp playing Anthony
Lewis draws from the modern instruments of the English Chamber Orchestra. A masterful job of re-mastering
makes this 48-year-old recording
sound quite good.
Pioneering effort
Andrew Parrott’s 1981 recording for
the Chandos label attempts to re-create
the 1689 performance at Josias Priest’s
Boarding School for Girls. With the
exception of Aeneas, all of the roles are
sung by women. Parrott uses a small
ensemble (12 instrumentalists and 12
choral singers), and there is a marvelous
lightness of tone and pulsing energy
throughout. For once, the instrumental
prelude to the witch’s scene in Act II is
actually spooky.
Of course, the centerpiece of the
recording is soprano Emma Kirkby
singing Dido. It is the antithesis of
Flagstad and Baker’s stately, more mature
Queen. Kirkby’s Dido is girlish and so
vulnerable that it makes one think this
well could be how one of the girls at
Priest’s school would have sounded.
David Thomas sings Aeneas with swagger aplenty, and Judith Nelson is a
lovely Belinda.
Disappointingly, the Dido and Aeneas
break-up in Act III lacks even a jot of
passion. For me, the deal-breaker on this
recording is the performance of Jantina
Noorman as the Sorceress. Yes, we want
“extra” music as the Kenny and Devine
performance featuring another mezzo
Dido, Sarah Connolly. Connolly is at the
very top of the Dido class, winning
points for pure vocalism. I don’t think
there is a more beautifully sung Dido on
record. Baritone Gerald Finley is a fine
Aeneas, and soprano Lucy Crowe’s
something otherworldly and weird in this
role, but Noorman’s growls and groans
are over the top and hardly musical.
When Pinnock and Wood wrote, “No
one thinks there is a ‘right’ way to deliver
Dido any more,” they could have been
referring to the recordings by
Emmanuelle Haïm leading Le Concert
D’Astrée (on Virgin Veritas) and Elizabeth Kenny and Steven Devine with the
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment
(Chandos).
Haïm leads a hyper-theatrical performance featuring New Mexico-born
Susan Graham singing Dido. The voluptuous-toned mezzo-soprano grabs the
listener’s heart from her opening “Ah
Belinda” to her deeply moving final
lament. Haïm is also favored with some
high-profile singers in the supporting
roles, including tenor Ian Bostridge as an
ardent Aeneas, countertenor David
Daniels in a brilliant turn as the Spirit,
and tenor Paul Agnew singing the
Sailor’s song like a salty British tar. Haïm
enriches the instrumental palette with
the addition of oboes, recorders, and
timpani. The winds certainly add a
French flavor to the dances, and the use
of organ in the Spirit scene is a quirky
but successful touch. Haïm even throws
in big drum wallops and a thunder sheet
in Act II’s opening and closing scenes.
Perhaps not for purists, but it makes for
very powerful theater.
No Dido recording has as much
Belinda is charming.
Connolly had performed Purcell’s
music before with members of the
ensemble, and, reminiscent of a jam session, they decide to add some material to
this recording. To fill in the awkward gap
at the end of Act II, Wood recomposed
the lost chorus “Then since our charms
have sped” and led it into a dance from
Purcell’s Circe. The other added pieces
include a dance tune from Purcell’s Bonduca, an alamand from the G minor keyboard suite, and improvised guitar
dances based on music by Corbetta and
de Visée. The additions are nicely integrated into the performance, although
it’s odd to have an orchestral repeat of
“Fear no danger to ensue” right after the
chorus has sung it.
recording with the late mezzo-soprano
Lorraine Hunt Lieberson in the title role
has it all. For sheer gorgeous vocalism
wed to dramatic intensity, Lieberson is
unsurpassed. Her every phrase and gesture carries weight. Lieberson’s singing
of the lament? I had to sit in silence
afterward and collect myself.
While Haïm’s effort boasts technicolor verve, this recording, with McGegan
leading a remarkably responsive Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, cuts to the
very heart of the work. The Dido and
Aeneas (sung by baritone Michael Dean)
exchange in Act III seethes, and Lieberson’s cry of “By all that’s good!” is shattering. For once, the roles of the Sorceress (mezzo-soprano Ellen Rabiner) and
Witches (sopranos Christine Brandes
and Ruth Rainero) are colorful but not
so broad as to descend into Monty
Python parody.
Drama is what is sadly missing from
Martin Pearlman and Boston Baroque’s
super-refined 1996 recording on Telarc.
Mezzo-soprano Nancy Maultsby is the
big-voiced Dido, and her voice is bountiful, but so is her vibrato. There’s also a
Notable American efforts
sense of dramatic detachment that perThe British do not own Dido and
meates her performance and the perAeneas. What is, to my mind, the finest
formance of pretty much everyone else
Dido and Aeneas recording currently avail- in the cast. Baritone Russell Braun sings
able features an American cast and
a muscular, stentorian Aeneas, but once
orchestra. The 1993 Harmonia Mundi
again, the Trojan comes off more as a
man of marble than flesh. The instrumentalists of Boston Baroque play the
score beautifully and Pearlman’s tempos
Kirkby’s Dido is girlish
are all intelligent and well-conceived, but
and so vulnerable
I see this as something of a museum
piece Dido: lovely to look at and admire
that it makes one think
but a beautiful curio in a glass showcase.
this well could be how one of
Since Dido and the Sorceress do not
the girls at Priest’s school
appear in any scenes together, why not
would have sounded.
Continued on page 57
Early Music America Fall 2009
35
Brandywine Baroque 2009-2010 Season
Oct. 9-11, 2009
Special Guest
Julianne Baird,
soprano
Dec. 11-13, 2009
Special Guest
Jose Lemos,
Countertenor
March 19-21, 2010
Birds, Bees
& Other Beasts
April 23-25, 2010
Vivaldi’s
Four Seasons
www.brandywinebaroque.org
36
Fall 2009 Early Music America
dido and Æneas
Continued from page 35
have the leading lady of the performance
Valentin Radu leading the Ama Deus
sing both roles? If you accept the prem- Baroque Ensemble. Baird sings with fullise that the Sorceress is a “shadow” of
ness of tone, careful ornamentation, and
Dido, this makes for very interesting the- great clarity. It’s a winning performance
ater. British soprano Evelyn Tubb sings
from a cherished singer and is the chief
both roles on an excellent 2002 Edition
reason to acquire this recording. The balLilac recording featuring Predrag Gosta ance of the cast is of varying quality.
leading the Atlanta-based Chorus and
Tenor Timothy Bentch’s Aeneas may
Orchestra of New Trinity Baroque. A
lack the dramatic punch of Meglioranza
great deal of thought went into this per- or the bravado of Thomas, but he gives
formance, and the liner notes written by an intelligent, clear-voiced performance.
Gosta and theorbist/guitarist Michael
Andrea Lauren Brown’s Belinda doesn’t
Fields raise some interesting questions
stand up to the really fine performances
about, among other things, social condi- of Nelson or Crowe, and Tatyana
tioning, myth and ritual, and the histori- Rashkovsky’s Sorceress is laced with
cally informed intervibrato and doesn’t
pretation of a Restorareally do much dramattion witch.
ically. Radu’s direction
“Great art invites endless is fine, but the Ama
Thankfully, Tubb
re-interpretation….
sings and acts both
Deus Baroque EnsemNo one thinks there is a
roles brilliantly, so this
ble doesn’t match the
is also great musiclevel of virtuosity
‘right’ way to deliver
making. Tubb’s Dido
and intensity that PhilDido any more. That
seems to fall someharmonia Baroque
does not diminish it
where between the
Orchestra or Boston
in the slightest.”
tragic queen and fragBaroque bring to this
– Andrew Pinnock and
ile, doomed lover. She
music.
Bruce Wood
takes great care in each
That’s nine recordpassage to create a
ings of Dido and Aeneas
flesh-and-blood charand I haven’t even
acter. The same can be said of baritone
scratched the surface. Which one is best?
Thomas Meglioranza, who does the near I won’t let you off that easy. Sample as
miraculous by singing the role of Aeneas many as you can and come to your own
with genuine emotion and absolute cred- conclusions. If I was forced to take one
ibility. Tubb’s performance as the Sorcer- recording to a desert island, it would be
ess is courageous. Not afraid to make an the one by Lieberson and McGegan –
occasional “ugly” sound, this is a wonbut I would be sure to have Tubb with
derfully colorful yet always musical perGosta and Graham with Haïm in my
formance. It is what Noorman attempt- iPod.
ed but failed in the Parrott recording.
There’s no telling what the next genGosta’s ensemble is excellent. There
eration of singers will offer to fans of
is no need to augment the ensemble with Purcell’s compositions, but there will cerwinds and timpani when the playing is so tainly be more Dido recordings in the
sensitive and secure. The choral work is future. As McGegan says of the opera,
excellent, too, with a true sense of char- “It manages to present the full gamut of
acter projected by the nameless witches, human emotions in a remarkably brief
sailors, and attendants. This self-protime, and Purcell’s consummate skill in
duced recording may not be as well
setting the English language is nowhere
known as others on our list, but it is
more in evidence.” Dido and Aeneas will
definitely well worth acquiring – a true
always have an audience.
sleeper.
Arts writer and consultant Craig Zeichner was
Julianne Baird is the Dido and star
formerly the recording reviews editor for Early
Music America magazine.
of a 2007 Lyrichord recording with
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Early Music America Fall 2009
57