A tragedy in miniature (Purcell: Dido And Aeneas)

Member Name: glitter_princess

Product:	Purcell: Dido And Aeneas
Date:	20/05/09 (59 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Baker is fabulous, rich, full voiced singing, brisk pace, dramatically intense,

Disadvantages: None

Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is one of England's oldest operas, having been first performed in 1689 at a Chelsea girls school, and is one of baroque opera's most well known pieces. Based on the legend of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a Trojan refugee, which appears in Virgil's Aeneid, the opera itself is an operatic tragedy in miniature - only one hour long - but when it is well performed, packs as much dramatic intensity as any grand opera.

The opera opens in Dido's palace in Carthage, as she tells her sister, Belinda, that her soul is tormented. Belinda, quite rightly, suspects that Aeneas, a Trojan visitor seeking refuge in their country, is the cause of the torment, and tries to persuade Dido that a union between the two would be advantageous to both kingdoms. Meanwhile, out on the moors, a sorceress and her clan of witches are plotting Dido's downfall and see the attraction to Aeneas as her Achilles heel and devise a plan to destroy both Dido and her kingdom.

The Decca recording was made in 1961 (remastered and re-released in 2000) and has to be regarded as one of the must-have Dido recordings. Anthony Lewis conducts the English Chamber Orchestra and famously had to convince a young Janet Baker to take the title role. The role of Dido is a difficult one to cast as it falls somewhere in between being categorically for a soprano or a mezzo soprano. At the time of this recording, Dido was perceived to be a soprano role - nowadays it is more traditionally considered a mezzo role and I would hazard a guess that that is principally down to the fantastic performance of Janet Baker. While I don't necessarily prefer either a soprano or a mezzo in the role, I do prefer a bigger voiced Dido, and Janet Baker has more than enough voice to make the role the dramatically intense performance it should be - no white voiced 'early music' singing here, this is full bodied, rich stuff! Baker's performance here is so perfectly regal and poised, perfectly capturing the character of the doomed noble Queen, as she reaches the tragic finale you are left almost breathless - the stark orchestration of the lament is heartbreaking and Baker's consumate artistry carries you along with her every step of the way. It's easy to see how this aria has made its way into popular culture, with even a Jeff Buckley cover! Her performance is so perfectly judged with so much artistry it's impossible not to shed a little tear at the opera's conclusion.

The supporting cast of Patricia Clark as Belinda, Raimund Herincx as Aeneas and Monica Sinclair as the Sorceress are all equally impressive and provide good support and the St Anthony Singers who form the important chorus are fantastically close knit and give a full chorus sound with the "With drooping wings" finale perfectly understated. Herincx has a rather rough sound but this seems entirely appropriate to the warrior Aeneas and while current musicological thinking is that the role of the sorceress should be sung by a counter-tenor, I far prefer Monica Sinclair's snarling contralto - a more characterful witch you couldn't ask for! Anothony Lewis shapes the score beautifully and the recording has a good sense of pace throughout, never feeling as though it lags.

When you consider the age of this recording, the quality of the sound really is fantastic and the engineers have done a marvellous job in remastering it - it sounds as good as any modern recording.

In my opinion, this is the must-have recording of Dido - the Christopher Hogwood version is a little too light and 'early music' for me - I am excited to hear the most recent recording with Sarah Connolly in the title role, following her appearance in the opera at Covent Garden, but for anyone looking for a Dido recording, this comes thoroughly recommended from me.

Summary: Janet Baker's signature role