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Editorial Reviews
American Record Guide, William J Gatens, May/June 2009
There are many recordings of Dido and Aeneas, and I am convinced that this one must rank among the finest. Mezzo-soprano Sarah Connolly assembled the cast and played a major part in the artistic decisions, including the insertion of pieces of additional music. She brings to the role of Dido a regal gravity that is indispensable for a convincing portrayal. Soprano Lucy Crowe as Belinda is youthful and energetic, but not flighty as in so many interpretations of the role. I have long felt that if a listener cannot distinguish Dido from Belinda sight unseen from the tone and vocal demeanor of the singers, then something is seriously wrong. This performance easily passes that test.
Baritone Gerald Finley as Aeneas gives us a clear and substantial tone that is not ponderous. Mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is superb as the Sorceress. Her delivery is menacing, but not the grotesque caricature some singers make of the role. The Sorceress and her witches are meant to be taken seriously. She is not, as Roger Savage put it, a "pantomime wicked fairy". In the end, this is technically first rate in playing and singing, good in its dramatic pacing, and mercifully free of gimmickry. It is the practice of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment not to have a regular conductor or even a set seating order. In this performance, Elizabeth Kenny and Steven Devine are codirectors from the continuo ensemble, Kenny playing guitar and theorbo with Devine at the harpsichord. There are two other theorbo-guitarists in the ensemble.
The earliest documented performance of Purcell's opera was in 1689 at Josias Priest's girls' boarding school in Chelsea. It is likely that the work had been performed earlier as a masque at court, then adapted for the school performance. The earliest source for the music dates from the 18th Century (Tenbury MS 1266 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) and undoubtedly reflects further adaptation for later performances. It appears that some musical items are missing from this source, and that is the basis for the insertion of additional pieces. Two guitar dances were inserted for the school performance. For this recording, the `Gittars Chacony' in Act I is an improvisation based on a chaconne by Francesco Corbetta, court guitarist to Charles II; and the `Gittars Passacaille' in Act II is based on a piece by Robert de Visée from the court of Louis XIV. A dance piece from Purcell's music to Bonduca is inserted early in Act I after Dido's aria on a ground, `Ah! Belinda'. The aria itself ends with an instrumental ritornello, and the additional dance seems to me too great an interruption of the dramatic flow so early in the act. More effective is the insertion of the Almand from Purcell's Suite in G minor, played on the harpsichord by Steven Devine between the two scenes of Act III, marking the transition from the quayside to the palace. The most serious gap in the surviving scores comes at the end of Act II. Missing from all the early scores is the chorus `Then since our charms have sped', sung by the Sorceress and witches, and the concluding `Groves Dance'. For this performance the chorus has been recomposed by Bruce Wood and is followed by a dance piece from Purcell's Circe. The text of the chorus is in the early surviving librettos, but here, as in any conceivable performance, it abruptly breaks the spell of Aeneas's soliloquy. I have heard performances that conclude the act with a hushed reprise of the ritornello that opens the scene, and I find it a more effective conclusion, especially when the soliloquy is as movingly sung as it is here by Gerald Finley.
The success or failure of a performance of Dido can depend on the celebrated Lament. Here Sarah Connolly takes a very slow tempo, but the dramatic tension and musical direction are never in jeopardy. It is an exquisitely eloquent reading
Baritone Gerald Finley as Aeneas gives us a clear and substantial tone that is not ponderous. Mezzo-soprano Patricia Bardon is superb as the Sorceress. Her delivery is menacing, but not the grotesque caricature some singers make of the role. The Sorceress and her witches are meant to be taken seriously. She is not, as Roger Savage put it, a "pantomime wicked fairy". In the end, this is technically first rate in playing and singing, good in its dramatic pacing, and mercifully free of gimmickry. It is the practice of the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment not to have a regular conductor or even a set seating order. In this performance, Elizabeth Kenny and Steven Devine are codirectors from the continuo ensemble, Kenny playing guitar and theorbo with Devine at the harpsichord. There are two other theorbo-guitarists in the ensemble.
The earliest documented performance of Purcell's opera was in 1689 at Josias Priest's girls' boarding school in Chelsea. It is likely that the work had been performed earlier as a masque at court, then adapted for the school performance. The earliest source for the music dates from the 18th Century (Tenbury MS 1266 in the Bodleian Library, Oxford) and undoubtedly reflects further adaptation for later performances. It appears that some musical items are missing from this source, and that is the basis for the insertion of additional pieces. Two guitar dances were inserted for the school performance. For this recording, the `Gittars Chacony' in Act I is an improvisation based on a chaconne by Francesco Corbetta, court guitarist to Charles II; and the `Gittars Passacaille' in Act II is based on a piece by Robert de Visée from the court of Louis XIV. A dance piece from Purcell's music to Bonduca is inserted early in Act I after Dido's aria on a ground, `Ah! Belinda'. The aria itself ends with an instrumental ritornello, and the additional dance seems to me too great an interruption of the dramatic flow so early in the act. More effective is the insertion of the Almand from Purcell's Suite in G minor, played on the harpsichord by Steven Devine between the two scenes of Act III, marking the transition from the quayside to the palace. The most serious gap in the surviving scores comes at the end of Act II. Missing from all the early scores is the chorus `Then since our charms have sped', sung by the Sorceress and witches, and the concluding `Groves Dance'. For this performance the chorus has been recomposed by Bruce Wood and is followed by a dance piece from Purcell's Circe. The text of the chorus is in the early surviving librettos, but here, as in any conceivable performance, it abruptly breaks the spell of Aeneas's soliloquy. I have heard performances that conclude the act with a hushed reprise of the ritornello that opens the scene, and I find it a more effective conclusion, especially when the soliloquy is as movingly sung as it is here by Gerald Finley.
The success or failure of a performance of Dido can depend on the celebrated Lament. Here Sarah Connolly takes a very slow tempo, but the dramatic tension and musical direction are never in jeopardy. It is an exquisitely eloquent reading
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
5 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Good but Questionable,
By
This review is from: Purcell: Dido & Aeneas (Audio CD)
This recording of Dido is good. I mean to say that the music is performed at an acceptable level. There were a couple of things that I found to be questionable. First, and the most irritating was the lack of emotion in the music. I found the performance to be very flat. All of the chromaticism that adds to the drama was ignored, or at least not brought out. After all this is opera, and is supposed to be dramatic. the performance of some of the vocalists were a bit shaky too. I was very surprised, Sarah Connolly's diction at times was intolerable, I was not able to make out the english. This isn't like Britten opera, the english should be able to be understood. The tempos were much to slow, the overture for example was much to slow. The dotted rhythms of the "french" overture were ignored. This adds to the drama and I was shocked that it was ignored. Finally the addition of the added movements was unnecessary. The Liner notes give some lame excuse why they put it in. Whether or not the end of Act II has been lost, other musicologists argue that Purcell did not set this part, if it has been lost, then do not add anything in. These may be good for a staging, and I would welcome them, with proper research, but for a recording purpose I disagree.
I do not regret purchasing this album, I always like to see other people's interpretations of a work, but I was a little disappointed. If I had to choose between this and another recording, I would have to go with Emmanuelle Haïm's recording.
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