Customer Reviews

Purcell: Dido and Aeneas

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Henry Purcell's oft-recorded opera, "Dido and Aeneas", is in fact the only one he ever composed, and renowned Baroque specialist René Jacobs turns out to be an ideal interpreter of this seminal 17th-century musical allegory. Not even an hour in length, the opera is an ideal introduction to this period of classical music, as Purcell melds a tragic love story with Shakespearean-level theatricality and surprising comedy elements. This 2006 reissue of a 1998 performance doesn't have quite the dramatic vibrancy of Emmanuelle Haïm's 2004 six-instrument ensemble, but it compensates with scope and polish.

The plot is drawn from Virgil's epic poem and centers on Dido, Queen of Carthage, who falls in love with Prince Aeneas, who is resting at Carthage on his way to found Rome. With the help of a disguised spirit, three witches decide to undo the lovers purely out of spite. The consequence is that Aeneas abandons Dido and sails for Rome, while a heartbroken Dido commits suicide. A superb cast has been assembled beginning with soprano Lynne Dawson, who has a lovely, plaintive vocal quality that brings an intense vulnerability to her characterization. She starts affectingly with the melancholic "Ah! Belinda" and ends with a haunting rendition of the piece's most famous aria, "When I am laid in earth".

Generally a tenor role and a small one at that, Aeneas is played with virile potency by baritone Gerald Finley. Soprano Rosemary Joshua provides fulsome support as the handmaiden Belinda, and fellow soprano Susan Bickley brings dramatic fire to the role of Sorceress (though I wish a mezzo-soprano was cast to add more vocal variety to the mix). A fourth soprano, Maria Cristina Kiehr, handles the Second Woman's aria with aplomb, "Oft she visits this lov'd mountain", and a trio of superb countertenors - Dominique Vasse, Stephen Wallace and Robin Blaze - rounds out the ensemble with brief but vivid appearances as the witches and the spirit. Jacobs masterfully leads the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment, as does Timothy Brown with the Clare College Chapel Choir. The sum effect is often exhilarating and a fine addition to the Purcell discography.

Wow! I just stumbled onto this reissue from another website. I thought it was out of the catalog. I have several versions of Purcell's masterpiece and let me assure you that this is the best one hands down! Rene Jacobs rarely disappoints and he and his orchestra and singers are in fine form in Dido and Aeneas. It's full of drama, exquisite singing and music which lifts you up and tears at your heartstrings especially the famous closing lament. And all of this for only $7.98?! You'd be mad to pass this offer up. Don't hesitate. Grab this while you can!

There is a lot to recommend this performance, and I certainly prefer it to the fascinating but overrated Emmanuelle Haim account on Virgin. In my affections it cedes first prize to Hogwood on L'oiseau lyre with Bott.

Jacobs lies between Hogwood and Haim both in terms of issue date and instrumental approach -- neither as polite as Hogwood nor as aggressive as Haim. What distinguishes him is some dark sounds from the lower strings, right from the beginning and persisting throughout. He does make strong use of winds and strummed instruments, and the organ at a couple of telling intervals (the Spirit's appearance, as usual, but also Dido's lines just before her final recititive, "But Death, alas! I cannot shun"). Jacobs interpolates music adapted from the Fairy Queen for a chorus and dance to round out the incomplete Act II, but it is not entirely convincing. (Haim ends with Aeneas's soliloquy and Hogwood repeats the ritornelli from the beginning of the scene.)

Lynne Dawson sounds a mite long in the tooth for Dido, but her final confrontation and lament are vibrant with anguish. It is a strong characterization and performance.

Gerald Finley is superb as Aeneas. What a relief to hear a baritone -- and a strong, limber one at that -- in this role, which simply lies too low to bring forth interesting sounds from the tenors to whom it is usually entrusted. He isn't brimming with period inflection but is infinitely more involved than Bostridge for Haim, who busies himself with a thousand whistle-stops on individual words without making a coherent emotional impression.

Susan Bickley as the sorceress is even more attractive in tone than Felicity Palmer for Haim -- her voice is well nigh as beautiful as Dawson's in fact, lending the impression that she is more a romantic rival than a b'te noire. She does put some bite into her lines but mostly leaves the vocal dirty work to her witches, portrayed by two countertenors, the characterful Dominique Visse and the eery Stephen Wallace, who actually contrast and harmonize beautifully amidst their antics. Also, Jacobs adapts two choruses of the witches to make one anticipate and one echo the famous echo chorus ... an interesting but superfluous conceit. Elsewhere, Jacobs takes other willful innovations in the dances and choruses that are interesting but don't consistently work. (One place where it does is at Belinda's "Thanks to these lonesome vales," which the chorus repeats after each couple rather than at the end.) The chorus is a heartfelt participant in the drama, and its finale, "With drooping wings" -- delicately textured with one, maybe two, voices per part, at least on the entrances -- is heartbreaking. But then Jacobs overdoes it by repeating the chorus rather than ending on the instrumental repeat that sometimes follows.

As I type this review I see that this version of Dido and Aeneas is no longer in the catalogue. That's hard to believe. I own several renditions of Henry Purcell's most famous opera and none other compares to the quality of singing, drama, and overall production value of this one. Rene Jacobs has a way of extracting exemplary performances from his musicians and this work is no exception. The singing is lively and the music melts your heart, especially the closing lament. If you get a chance to procure a copy of this version grab it!