Purcell - Dido and Aeneas / von Otter · Varcoe · Dawson · Rogers · The English Concert & Choir · Pinnock [Deluxe Edition, Import]

Henry Purcell (Composer), Trevor Pinnock (Conductor), The English Concert & Choir (Orchestra), Kim Amps (Orchestra), Anne Sofie von Otter (Performer), Stephen Varcoe (Performer), Sarah Leonard (Performer), Carol Hall (Performer), Lynne Dawson (Performer), Nigel Rogers (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Stephen Varcoe, Sarah Leonard, Carol Hall, Lynne Dawson, et al.
• Orchestra: The English Concert & Choir, Kim Amps
• Conductor: Trevor Pinnock
• Composer: Henry Purcell
• Audio CD (September 13, 1989)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Deluxe Edition, Import
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B0000057DF
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #185,902 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #48 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Otter, Anne Sophie von

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Concise Masterpiece, February 12, 2004

By 

R. Albin (Ann Arbor, Michigan United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Purcell - Dido and Aeneas / von Otter · Varcoe · Dawson · Rogers · The English Concert & Choir · Pinnock (Audio CD)

This short opera is perhaps Purcell's finest work. Beautiful music, and unlike Purcell's semi-operas, Dido and Aeneas has a dramatic integrity that gives the work real direction. This is one of Purcell's last works. This is a fine performance with excellent orchestral and vocal work. My only reservation is that while Von Otter sings Dido very well, her singing lacks the fire of Lorraine Hunt's performances. Purcell died in his mid-30s. A real pity. He was already a master of traditonal Baroque forms and apparently beginning to change his style under the influence of Italian derived innovations. Another decade or two of life might have resulted in more works like Dido. A nice bonus of this recording are the particularly good liner notes describing the sources of Dido, its interesting early performance history, and the fact that it was probably intended in part as an allegorical warning to King William.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent performance of "Dido and Aeneas", August 12, 2003

By 

Sungu Okan "Can Okan" (Istanbul, Istanbul Turkey) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purcell - Dido and Aeneas / von Otter · Varcoe · Dawson · Rogers · The English Concert & Choir · Pinnock (Audio CD)

This opera, perhaps, one of the most beatiful works by Henry Purcell. Also, this opera was written when, mythological operas were to be the vogue. However, this opera is short than other operas (about 52 minutes) and be formed in three acts.

And this recording, perhaps, one of the most succesful Purcell recordings. In 3rd act, (finale scene), at the last aria of the Dido, Anne Sofie von Otter displayed, her one of the best performance. And, in music for only orchestra (ex. Overture, Triumph Dance [track 7]), Trevor Pinnock and his orchestra, The English Concert are excellent. Also this CD includes a very fine booklet about list of all musicians, synopsis, libretto (in 4 languages).

Highly recommended for all Purcell fans.

7 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Get this for comparison - but there are better...., August 24, 2001

By 

Concert Music (Alpharetta, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purcell - Dido and Aeneas / von Otter · Varcoe · Dawson · Rogers · The English Concert & Choir · Pinnock (Audio CD)

I listened to this disc immediately after I had been thoroughly stunned by Lynne Dawson's performance of Dido on a Harmonia Mundi disc with Rene Jacobs directing - and what a difference I discovered! IMHO, von Otter's voice is not suited to Baroque opera. On the other hand, Lynne Dawson, who does a marvelous job with Belinda on this recording, IS perfectly suited to this opera. The definitive aria of this work, Dido's Lament, left me feeling cold and grossly disappointed - Trevor Pinnock took it easily twice as fast as Rene Jacobs, and what a waste of a great aria it was! The two parts of this recording that were outstanding, in addition to Dawson's Belinda (but could not make up for von Otter's performance) were Stephen Varcoe's lovely interpretation of Aeneas and the playing of the English Concert (even though the pace was too fast for my taste). Instead of continuing to pan this recording, I urge you to read my review of the Jacobs recording with Dawson as Dido.