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{{short description|Opera by Purcell}}
{{EngvarB|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}
{{For|the painting by Turner|Dido and Aeneas (painting)}}
{{Infobox opera
| name = Dido and Aeneas
| composer = [[Henry Purcell]]
| image = Henry Purcell by John Closterman.jpg
| image_upright = 0.8
| caption = The composer, portrait by {{nowrap|[[John Closterman]]}}, c. 1695
| librettist = [[Nahum Tate]]
| based_on = Book IV of Virgil's ''[[Aeneid]]''
| premiere_date = 1689
| premiere_location = [[Josias Priest]]'s girls' school, London
}}
'''''Dido and Aeneas''''' (Z. 626)<ref>"Z" refers to the Zimmerman catalogue of Purcell's works by the American musicologist [[Franklin B. Zimmerman]]</ref> is an [[opera]] in a prologue and three acts, written by the English [[Baroque music|Baroque]] composer [[Henry Purcell]] with a [[libretto]] by [[Nahum Tate]]. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. It was composed no later than July 1688,{{sfn|White|2009|p=426}} and had been performed at [[Josias Priest]]'s girls' school in London by the end of 1689.<ref name="ReferenceA">{{harvnb|White|2009|p=417}}</ref> Some scholars argue for a date of composition as early as 1683.<ref name="Pinnock, Andrew 2015">{{harvnb|Pinnock|2015|pp=199–212}}</ref><ref name=WoodPinnock>{{harvnb|Wood|Pinnock|1992}}</ref> The story is based on Book IV of [[Virgil]]'s ''[[Aeneid]]''.<ref name=Grove /> It recounts the love of [[Dido]], Queen of [[Carthage]], for the [[Troy|Trojan]] hero [[Aeneas]], and her despair when he abandons her. A monumental work in [[Baroque opera]], ''Dido and Aeneas'' is remembered as one of Purcell's foremost theatrical works.<ref name=Grove>{{harvnb|Price|2002}}</ref> It was also Purcell's only true opera, as well as his only all-sung dramatic work. One of the earliest known English operas, it owes much to [[John Blow]]'s ''[[Venus and Adonis (opera)|Venus and Adonis]]'', both in structure and in overall effect.<ref name=Grove />

The influence of [[Francesco Cavalli|Cavalli]]'s opera ''[[Didone (opera)|Didone]]'' is also apparent. Both works use the prologue/three acts format and there are similarities between, for instance, [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]'s solo in ''Didone'' and the solo "Come away fellow sailors" in Purcell's work.

==Background and context==
[[File:Affresco romano - Enea e di.jpg|thumb|[[Dido]] and [[Aeneas]], from a Roman fresco, [[Pompeian Styles|Pompeian Third Style]] (10 BC – 45 AD), [[Pompeii]], Italy]]
Before ''Dido and Aeneas,'' Purcell had composed music for several stage works, including nine pieces for [[Nathaniel Lee]]'s ''[[Theodosius (play)|Theodosius, or The Force of Love]]'' (1680) and eight songs for [[Thomas d'Urfey]]'s ''[[A Fool's Preferment]]'' (1688). He also composed songs for two plays by [[Nahum Tate]] (later the librettist of Dido and Aeneas), ''The Sicilian Usurper'' (1680) and ''[[Cuckold's Haven]]'' (1685). ''Dido and Aeneas'' was Purcell's first (and only) all-sung opera and derives from the English [[masque]] tradition.

===Libretto===
Originally based on Nahum Tate's play ''[[Brutus of Alba (play)|Brutus of Alba, or The Enchanted Lovers]]'' (1678), the opera is likely, at least to some extent, to be [[allegorical]]. The prologue refers to the joy of a marriage between two monarchs, which could refer to the marriage between [[William III of England|William]] and [[Mary II of England|Mary]]. In a poem of about 1686, Tate alluded to [[James II of England|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 symbolises the British people. The same symbolism may apply to the opera.<ref name=Grove /> 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 seemingly lighter scenes, such as the First Sailor's song, "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." Musicologist Ellen T. Harris considers the callousness and cynicism of the song to underline the "moral" of the story, that young women should not succumb to the advances and promises of ardent young men.<ref>Harris (1990) p. 17</ref>

===Score===
No score in Purcell's hand is [[Extant literature|extant]], and the only seventeenth-century source is a libretto, possibly from the original performance. The earliest extant score, held in the [[Bodleian Library]], was copied no earlier than 1750, well over sixty years after the opera was composed.{{sfn|Price|1984|p=239}} No later sources follow the act divisions of the libretto, and the music to the prologue is lost. The prologue, the end of the act 2 'Grove' scene, and several dances, were almost certainly lost when the opera was divided into parts to be performed as interludes between the acts of spoken plays in the first decade of the eighteenth century.{{sfn|Price|1984|pp=239–245}}

The first of the arias to be published separately was "Ah, Belinda" in ''[[Orpheus Britannicus]]''.<ref name=Grove /> The most famous [[aria]] of the work is "When I am laid in earth", popularly known as "[[Dido's Lament]]". Both arias are formed on a [[lament]]o [[ground bass]]. "Dido's Lament" has been performed or recorded by artists far from the typical operatic school, such as [[Klaus Nomi]] (as "Death"), [[Ane Brun]] and [[Jeff Buckley]]. It has also been transcribed or used in many scores, including the soundtrack to the [[HBO]] miniseries ''[[Band of Brothers (miniseries)|Band of Brothers]]'' (renamed "Nixon's Walk"). It is played annually by a military band at [[The Cenotaph, Whitehall|the Cenotaph]] [[Remembrance Sunday|remembrance ceremony]], which takes place on the Sunday nearest to 11 November ([[Armistice Day]]) in London's [[Whitehall]]. The music is sometimes thought to be too simple for Purcell in 1689, but this may simply reflect that the intended performers were schoolchildren.<ref name=Grove /> The work is scored for four-part strings and continuo. The fact that the libretto from the Chelsea School performance indicates two dances for guitar, the "Dance Gittars Chacony" in act 1, and the "Gittar Ground a Dance" in the 'Grove' scene of act 2, has led one scholar to suggest that Purcell envisaged a guitar as a primary member of the continuo group for the opera.{{sfn|Holman|1994|pp=200–201}} Music for neither of these dances is extant, and it seems likely that Purcell did not compose them, but rather left them to be improvised by the guitarist.{{sfn|Holman|1994|p=200}} Several editions of the opera have been made and have been provided with a continuo realisation; a notable, if rather idiosyncratic edition being that made by [[Imogen Holst]] and [[Benjamin Britten]]. There are a number of editions with realisations, and the opera's accessibility to amateur performers is a feature that has greatly abetted the growth of its popularity in the latter half of the twentieth century.<ref name=Dent>Purcell (1991) p. iv</ref> While the Prologue's music has been lost and has not been reconstructed, several realisations of the opera include a solution to the missing ''ritornello'' at the end of the second act. Known to have been part of the score, it is now performed as a dance taken from other, similar works by Purcell, or invented outright in the same vein, to keep the integrity and continuity of the performance.

==Performance history==

===Premiere and early revivals===
A letter from the Levant merchant Rowland Sherman associates ''Dido and Aeneas'' with [[Josias Priest]]'s girls' school in [[Chelsea, London]] no later than the summer of 1688.{{sfn|White|2009|p=420}} The first performance may have taken place as early as 1 December 1687,{{sfn|White|2009|p=422}} and evidence suggests that the opera was performed at the school again in 1689.<ref name="ReferenceA"/> Several scholars have argued that the work was composed for the English court, either for Charles II (and perhaps as early as 1684)<ref name="Pinnock, Andrew 2015"/><ref name=WoodPinnock /> or for [[James II of England|James II]].<ref>Keates (1996) p. 179 and {{harvnb|Walking|1995|p=469}}{{clarify|date=August 2024|reason=Page 469 is outside the cited range.}}</ref> Following the Chelsea performances, the opera was not staged again in Purcell's lifetime. Its next performance was in 1700 as a ''[[masque]]'' incorporated into ''Beauty the Best Advocate'', an adapted version of Shakespeare's ''[[Measure for Measure]]'' at [[Thomas Betterton]]'s theatre in London.

After 1705 it disappeared as a staged work, with only sporadic concert performances, until 1895 when the first staged version in modern times was performed by students of the [[Royal College of Music]] at London's [[Lyceum Theatre, London|Lyceum Theatre]] to mark the bicentenary of Purcell's death.<ref>Crozier (1987) p. 114</ref> ''Dido and Aeneas'' received its first performance outside England on 14 December 1895 in a concert version at the University Society in [[Dublin]].

===20th- and 21st-century performances===

[[File:Henry Purcell "Dido & Aeneas" (extrait) - Les Arts Florissants, William Christie.webm|thumb|[[Lea Desandre]] performs ''When I am laid in Earth'' with Les Arts Florissants in 2020]]

''Dido and Aeneas'' premiered in the United States at the [[Plaza Hotel]] in New York City on 10 February 1923 performed by the girls of the Rosemary School, although ''[[The New York Times]]'' noted that "considerable liberties" had been taken with the score.<ref>Rosenthal and Warrack (1979) p. 134;{{incomplete short citation|date=August 2024}} ''[[The New York Times]]'' (11 February 1923) p. 19{{full citation needed|date=August 2024|Article name?}}</ref> A concert version with professional musicians organised by the Society of Friends of Music took place on 13 January 1924 at the New York City Town Hall, using a score edited by [[Artur Bodanzky]], who also conducted the performance.<ref>Harris (1990) p. 157 lists this performance as the US premiere</ref>

As new critical editions of the score appeared, and with the revival of interest in Baroque music, the number of productions steadily increased. After [[Jonathan Miller]]'s visit to [[Bornholm]], Denmark, ''Dido'' was performed in 2007 at the [[Rønne]] Theatre, which had been built in 1823. Kevin Duggan conducted. Amongst the new productions of the opera in 2009, the 350th anniversary of Purcell's birth, were those staged by the [[De Nederlandse Opera]], the [[Royal Opera, London]], the Divertimento Baroque Opera Company, and [[Glimmerglass Opera]] in [[Cooperstown, New York]]. The Royal Opera production, which featured contemporary dance by [[Wayne McGregor Random Dance]] and animated effects by Mark Hatchard, formed part of a double bill with Handel's ''[[Acis and Galatea (Handel)|Acis and Galatea]]''.<ref>Melanie Eskenazi, [http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=6937 The Royal Opera & The Royal Ballet – ''Dido and Aeneas'' / ''Acis and Galatea''"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120309123931/http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=6937 |date=9 March 2012 }} on classicalsource.com</ref> In 2011 the opera was revived by City Wall Productions and set during World War II.<ref>[http://www.citywallproductions.com City Wall Productions' website] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140108021808/http://www.citywallproductions.com/ |date=8 January 2014 }}</ref> A new [[Opera North]] production of the opera opened at [[Leeds Grand Theatre]] in February 2013.<ref>[http://www.operanorth.co.uk/productions/98 "What's On: Details on Opera North's website] operanorth.co.uk</ref> Opera Up Close performed a truncated version in 2011, setting it in an American high school in the 1950s.

===Adaptations===
A version of the opera adapted to [[modern dance]] was choreographed by the American [[Mark Morris (choreographer)|Mark Morris]], who originally danced both the roles of Dido and the Sorceress. It premiered on 11 March 1989 at the Théâtre Varia in Brussels.<ref>Mark Morris Dance Group{{full citation needed|date=August 2024}}</ref> It has since been performed many times and was filmed in 1995 by Canadian director Barbara Willis Sweete, with Morris in the roles of Dido and the Sorceress.<ref>Walker (9 July 1995) p. C1</ref> The production was subsequently seen at the Grand Théâtre in [[Luxembourg]], [[Opéra national de Montpellier]], and [[Sadler's Wells Theatre]] in London. In the Morris adaptation, as well as another by Sasha Waltz,<ref>{{cite news |last1=Roy |first1=Sanjoy |title=Sasha Waltz & Guests: Dido and Aeneas |url=https://sanjoyroy.net/2007/04/sasha-waltz-guests-dido-and-aeneas/ |access-date=13 December 2024 |work=[[Dancing Times]] |date=1 April 2007 |location=London |via=sanjoyroy.net}}</ref> the characters are each portrayed by both a singer and a dancer, with the dancers on stage and the singers performing from the side of the stage or the [[orchestra pit]].

==Roles==
{| class="wikitable"
!Role
![[Voice type]]
|-
|Dido (also known as Elissa), ''Queen of Carthage''
|[[soprano]] or [[mezzo-soprano]]<ref>The original score was written for soprano, but can be performed by mezzo-sopranos {{harv|Price|1984|p=247}}.</ref>
|-
|Belinda, ''Dido's [[Handmaiden|handmaid]]''
|light soprano
|-
|Second Woman, ''Another Handmaiden''
|soprano or mezzo-soprano
|-
|Aeneas, ''Trojan Prince''
|[[tenor]] or high [[baritone]]<ref>The original score was written for tenor, but is often performed by high [[baritone]]s. See Harris (1990) pp. 60–62</ref>
|-
|Sorceress/Sorcerer
|mezzo-soprano, [[contralto]], [[countertenor]] or [[Bass (voice type)|bass]]{{sfn|Price|Cholij|1986}}
|-
|First Witch/Enchantress
|mezzo-soprano
|-
|Second Witch/Enchantress
|mezzo-soprano
|-
|Spirit, ''in form of [[Mercury (mythology)|Mercury]]''
|soprano or countertenor
|-
|First Sailor
|tenor<ref>The part was originally played by a woman, although as early as 1700 the part was customarily played by a tenor. See Purcell (1971) p. v</ref>
|-
|colspan="3"|Chorus, [[SATB]]: all members at one point or another represent ''courtiers, witches, cupids, and sailors.''
|}

==Synopsis==
[[File:Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland - The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|300px|''[[The Meeting of Dido and Aeneas]]'' by [[Nathaniel Dance-Holland]], 1766]]

===Act 1===
''Dido's court''

The opera opens with Dido in her court with her attendants. Belinda is trying to cheer Dido up, but Dido is full of sorrow, saying 'Peace and I are strangers grown'. Belinda believes the source of this grief to be the Trojan Aeneas, and suggests that Carthage's troubles could be resolved by a marriage between the two. Dido and Belinda talk for a time: Dido fears that her love will make her a weak monarch, but Belinda and the Second Woman reassure her that "The hero loves as well." Aeneas enters the court, and is at first received coldly by Dido, but she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage.

===Act 2===
''Scene 1: The cave of the Sorceress''

The Sorceress/Sorcerer is plotting the destruction of Carthage and its queen, and summons companions to help with evil plans. The plan is to send her "trusted elf" disguised as Mercury, someone to whom Aeneas will surely listen, to tempt him to leave Dido and sail to Italy. This would leave Dido heartbroken, and she would surely die. The chorus join in with terrible laughter, and the Enchantresses decide to conjure up a storm to make Dido and her train leave the grove and return to the palace. When the spell is prepared, the witches vanish in a thunderclap.

''Scene 2: A grove during the middle of a hunt''
{{listen
| image = [[File:Low ham mosaic.jpg|100px]]
| filename = Stay, Prince and hear.ogg
| title    = Stay, Prince and hear
|description=The Sorceress' messenger, in form of Mercury, attempts to convince Aeneas to leave Carthage.
}}
Dido and Aeneas are accompanied by their train. They stop at the grove to take in its beauty. A lot of action is taking place, with attendants carrying goods from the hunt and possibly a picnic in progress, Dido and Aeneas forming the focus of all the activity. This ceases when Dido hears distant thunder, prompting Belinda to tell the servants to prepare for a return to shelter as soon as possible. As every other character leaves the stage, Aeneas is stopped by the Sorceress's elf, who is disguised as Mercury. This pretend Mercury brings the "command of Jove" that Aeneas is to wait no longer in beginning his task of creating a new Troy on Latin soil. Aeneas consents to the wishes of what he believes are the gods, but is heart-broken that he will have to leave Dido. He then goes off-stage to prepare for his departure from Carthage.

===Act 3===
''The harbour at Carthage''

Preparations are being made for the departure of the Trojan fleet. The sailors sing a song, which is followed shortly by the Sorceress and her companions' sudden appearance. The group is pleased at how well their plan has worked, and the Sorceress sings a solo describing her further plans for the destruction of Aeneas "on the ocean". All the characters begin to clear the stage after a dance in three sections, and then disperse.

''The palace''

Dido and Belinda enter, shocked at Aeneas' disappearance. Dido is distraught and Belinda comforts her. Suddenly Aeneas returns, but Dido is full of fear before Aeneas speaks, and his words only serve to confirm her suspicions. She derides his reasons for leaving, and even when Aeneas says he will defy the gods and not leave Carthage, Dido rejects him for having once thought of leaving her. After Dido forces Aeneas to leave, she states that "Death must come when he is gone." The opera and Dido's life both slowly come to a conclusion, as the Queen of Carthage sings her last aria, [[Dido's Lament|"When I am laid in Earth"]], also known as "Dido's Lament." The chorus and orchestra then conclude the opera once Dido is dead by ordering the "cupids to scatter roses on her tomb, soft and gentle as her heart. Keep here your watch, and never, never part."<ref name=Kobb>Synopsis based on Kobbé (1987) pp. 1010–1014.</ref>

==Recordings==
{{Main article|Dido and Aeneas discography}}

The first complete recording of the opera was made by [[Decca Records]] in 1935 with [[Nancy Evans (mezzo-soprano)|Nancy Evans]] as Dido and [[Roy Henderson (baritone)|Roy Henderson]] as Aeneas,<ref>Darrell (1936) p. 371</ref> followed in 1945 by a [[His Master's Voice (British record label)|His Master's Voice]] release with [[Joan Hammond]] and [[Dennis Noble]]. [[Kirsten Flagstad]], who had sung the role at the [[Mermaid Theatre]] in London, recorded it in 1951 for [[EMI]] with [[Thomas Hemsley]] as Aeneas. ''Dido and Aeneas'' has been recorded many times since the 1960s with Dido sung by [[mezzo-soprano]]s such as [[Janet Baker]] (1961), [[Tatiana Troyanos]] (1968), [[Teresa Berganza]] (1986), [[Anne Sofie von Otter]] (1989) and [[Susan Graham]] (2003). In addition to Joan Hammond and Kirsten Flagstad, [[soprano]]s who have recorded the role include [[Victoria de los Ángeles]] (1965), [[Emma Kirkby]] (1981), [[Jessye Norman]] (1986), [[Catherine Bott]] (1992), [[Lynne Dawson]] (1998), and [[Evelyn Tubb]] (2004).

Beginning with two pioneering recordings of the work with original instruments: [[Joel Cohen (musician)|Joel Cohen]]'s 1979 recording with the [[Boston Camerata]], on Harmonia Mundi, and [[Andrew Parrott]]'s 1981 recording for [[Chandos Records|Chandos]] with the [[Taverner Consort and Players]], there was an increasing preference for a more genuine [[historically informed performance|period sound]].<ref>Boyden ''et al.'' (2002) p. 30</ref> Further recordings by conductors and ensembles using this approach include those by [[Christopher Hogwood]] and the [[Academy of Ancient Music]], [[William Christie (musician)|William Christie]] and [[Les Arts Florissants (ensemble)|Les Arts Florissants]] (1986); [[Trevor Pinnock]] and [[The English Concert]] (1989); [[René Jacobs]] and the [[Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment]] (1998); [[Emmanuelle Haïm]] and Le Concert d'Astrée (2003); and [[Predrag Gosta]] and [[New Trinity Baroque]] (2004). The Haïm recording with [[Susan Graham]] as Dido and [[Ian Bostridge]] as Aeneas was nominated for the [[Grammy Award for Best Opera Recording|Best Opera Recording]] in the [[47th Grammy Awards#Classical|2005 Grammy Awards]].<ref>Associated Press (7 December 2004)</ref> Another notable recording dates from 1994, with [[The Scholars (vocal group)|The Scholars Baroque Ensemble]] and Kym Amps as Dido.

Several performances of the opera have been filmed and are available on DVD, most recently the 2008 performance at the [[Opéra-Comique]] in Paris conducted by William Christie and directed by [[Deborah Warner]] (FRA Musica FRA001)<ref>Jordy (9 December 2009)</ref> and the 2009 performance at London's [[Royal Opera House]] conducted by [[Christopher Hogwood]] and directed by [[Wayne McGregor]] (OpusArte OA1018D). The Mark Morris dance version of the opera is also preserved on DVD (recorded 1995, Image Entertainment 8741) as is the dance version by Sasha Waltz (recorded 2005, Arthaus Musik 101311). [[Leopold Stokowski]] made a string orchestra arrangement of "Dido's Lament". Others who have recorded it include [[Matthias Bamert]], [[José Serebrier]], [[Richard Egarr]] and [[Iona Brown]].

==Other uses of the music==
German choreographer [[Pina Bausch]] used music from two of Purcell's works, ''[[The Fairy-Queen]]'' and ''Dido and Aeneas'', in her most famous dance work, ''[[Café Müller]]''.<ref>{{cite web | title=Three times six | website=www.pina-bausch.de | date=28 April 2023 | url=https://www.pina-bausch.de/en/news/15/three-times-six | access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | last=Wiegand | first=Chris | title=Forever (Immersion dans Café Müller de Pina Bausch) review – a heartbreaking redux | website=The Guardian | date=18 July 2024 | url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jul/18/forever-immersion-dans-cafe-muller-de-pina-bausch-review-la-fabrica-avignon | access-date=10 March 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of compositions by Henry Purcell]]

==References==
'''Notes'''
{{reflist}}

'''Sources'''
{{div col|colwidth=45em}}
*Boyden, Matthew ''et al.'', [https://books.google.com/books?id=bLDaqKzJF08C&pg=PT26 "''Dido and Aeneas''", ''The Rough Guide to Opera''] 3rd ed. Rough Guides, 2002. {{ISBN|1-85828-749-9}} For a more detailed discussion of "early instrument Dido recordings, consult [https://www.nytimes.com/1999/05/30/arts/music-raising-the-stakes-in-a-purcell-opera.html "Music; Raising the Stakes In a Purcell Opera"] by [[Allan Kozinn]], 30 May 1999, ''[[The New York Times]]''
*Darrell, R. D., [https://archive.org/details/gramophoneshopen010034mbp ''The Gramophone Shop Encyclopedia of Recorded Music''], The Gramophone Shop, Inc., 1936
*Harris, Ellen T., [https://books.google.com/books?id=OQZGt1pzcfkC ''Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas''], Oxford University Press, 1990. {{ISBN|0-19-315252-5}}
* {{cite book|last=Holman|first=Peter|author-link=Peter Holman|title=Henry Purcell|series=Oxford Studies of Compsers|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1994|isbn=0-19-816340-1}}
*Jordy, Catherine, [http://www.forumopera.com/index.php?mact=News,cntnt01,print,0&cntnt01articleid=1389&cntnt01showtemplate=false&cntnt01lang=fr_FR&cntnt01returnid=70 "Flamboyante tragédie au Comique"], ''Forum Opéra'', 9 December 2009 (accessed 19 January 2010, in French)
*Keates, Jonathan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=C6vaHHv-9YcC ''Purcell: A Biography''], Northeastern University Press, 1996. {{ISBN|1-55553-287-X}}
*[[Gustav Kobbé|Kobbé, Gustav]], ''The Definitive Kobbé's Book of Opera''. [[George Lascelles, 7th Earl of Harewood|The Earl of Harewood]] (ed.), 1st American ed., G. P. Putnam's and Sons, 1987, pp.&nbsp;1010–1014.
*Mark Morris Dance Group, [http://markmorrisdancegroup.org/works/24 Work details: ''Dido and Aeneas'']
* {{cite book|last=Price|first=Curtis|author-link=Curtis Price|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=E7E8AAAAIAAJ&pg=PA225|title=Henry Purcell and the London Stage|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1984|isbn=0-521-23831-5}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Price|first1=Curtis|last2=Cholij|first2=Irena|title=Dido's Bass Sorceress|journal=[[The Musical Times]]|volume=127|date=November 1986|issue=1726 |pages=615–618|doi=10.2307/964271 |jstor=964271 }}
* {{cite Grove|last=Price|first=Curtis|title=''Dido and Aeneas''|year=2002|id=O006883}} {{subscription required}}
*Pinnock, Andrew, "Deus ex machina: A royal witness to the court origin of Purcell’s ''Dido and Aeneas''". ''[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]'', 40 (2012): 265–278.
* {{cite journal|last=Pinnock|first=Andrew|title=Which Genial Day? More on the court origin of Purcell's ''Dido and Aeneas'', with a shortlist of dates for its possible performance before King Charles II|journal=[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]|volume=43|year=2015|issue=2 |pages=199–212|doi=10.1093/em/cav005 }}
*Purcell, Henry, ''Dido and Aeneas'' (vocal score), Edward Dent and Ellen Harris (eds.), Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1991.
*Purcell, Henry, ''Dido and Aeneas'' (vocal and full score), Margaret Laurie and Thurston Dart (eds.), Novello, 1971
*Walker, Susan, [https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/21208971.html?dids=21208971:21208971&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+09%2C+1995&author=By+Susan+Walker+TORONTO+STAR&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Every+inch+a+diva+Opposites+attract+dancer+Mark+Morris.+They+define+his+life+and+his+art&pqatl=google "Every inch a diva. Opposites attract dancer Mark Morris. They define his life and his art"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121024200153/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/thestar/access/21208971.html?dids=21208971:21208971&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Jul+09,+1995&author=By+Susan+Walker+TORONTO+STAR&pub=Toronto+Star&desc=Every+inch+a+diva+Opposites+attract+dancer+Mark+Morris.+They+define+his+life+and+his+art&pqatl=google |date=24 October 2012 }}, ''[[Toronto Star]]'', 9 July 1995, p.&nbsp;C1
*{{cite journal|last1=Walking|first1=Andrew|date=November 1995|title=Political Allegory in Purcell's ''Dido and Aeneas''|journal=[[Music & Letters]]|volume=76|issue=4|pages=540–571|doi=10.1093/ml/76.4.540|doi-access=free}}
* {{cite journal|last=White|first=Bryan|title=Letter from Aleppo: dating the Chelsea School performance of ''Dido and Aeneas''|journal=[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]|volume=37|date=August 2009|issue=3 |pages=417–428|doi=10.1093/em/cap041}}
* {{cite journal|last1=Wood|first1=Bruce|last2=Pinnock|first2=Andrew |title='Unscarr'd by turning times'? The dating of Purcell's ''Dido and Aeneas''|journal=[[Early Music (journal)|Early Music]]|volume=20|year=1992|pages=372–390}}
{{div col end}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|editor-last=Holst|editor-first=Imogen|editor-link=Imogen Holst|url=https://archive.org/details/henrypurcell1659002216mbp|title=Henry Purcell 1659–1695 Essays on His Music|year=1959|location=London|publisher=Oxford University Press|ref=none}}
** Holst, Imogen (1959a). "Purcell's librettist, Nahum Tate". In Holst (1959), pp.&nbsp;35–41.
** White, Eric Walter. "New Light on Dido and Aeneas". In Holst (1959), pp.&nbsp;14–34.

==External links==
{{commons category}}
{{wikisource}}
* [http://didoneneepurcell.googlepages.com/ Analysis in French] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723192229/http://didoneneepurcell.googlepages.com/ |date=23 July 2008 }}
* [http://opera.stanford.edu/iu/libretti/dido.html Libretto at Stanford University]
* [http://www.newtrinitybaroque.org/multimedia/audio.html Free excerpts] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414221957/http://www.newtrinitybaroque.org/multimedia/audio.html |date=14 April 2010 }} from a recording by the [[New Trinity Baroque]] orchestra
* [https://us.imdb.com/title/tt0172319/ Internet Movie Database listing] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040510011454/http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0172319/ |date=10 May 2004 }}
* {{ChoralWiki|work=Dido_and_Aeneas,_Z_626_(Henry_Purcell)}}
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00r6029 BBC Radio 4 programme about "Dido's Lament"]
* {{IMSLP|work=Dido and Aeneas, Z.626 (Purcell, Henry)|cname=''Dido and Aeneas''}}
* [http://www.henrypurcell.org.uk The Purcell Society]
*[https://www.liberliber.it/online/autori/autori-p/henry-purcell/dido-and-aeneas/ Public domain recording, 1951], (mp3 files) on www.liberliber.it.
*[https://opera-inside.com/dido-and-aeneas-by-henry-purcell-the-opera-guide-and-synopsis/ Free Online opera guide on Purcell's Dido and Aeneas] An opera portrait with synopsis, commentary, music analysis, anecdotes

{{Henry Purcell|state=collapsed}}
{{Dido and Aeneas}}
{{Aeneid}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Dido And Eneas}}
[[Category:1688 operas]]
[[Category:Operas by Henry Purcell]]
[[Category:English-language operas]]
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[[Category:Operas based on the Aeneid]]
[[Category:Operas set in Africa]]
[[Category:Music based on poems]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Dido]]
[[Category:Works set in Carthage]]
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[[Category:Cultural depictions of William III of England]]
[[Category:Cultural depictions of Mary II]]
[[Category:Allegory]]
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