Customer Reviews

Purcell - Dido and Aeneas and Music for Plays & Masques / Maultsby · S. Waters · O'Keefe · S. Baker · L. Tucker · Ames · Clement · Braun · Boston Baroque · Pearlman

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Dido & Aeneas is my favourite opera: "Tristan und Isolde in a pint pot"; I have a dozen versions, and this one is up there with the best; the excerpts added as a bonus, the excellent recording and the presentation all add to the desirability of the CD. On the vocal side I agree with other reviewer in that Maultsby's vibrato bothers me too, although not terribly. The orchestral sound is that bit too solid, and continuo could be more varied. Bolton for Teldec Henry Purcell Dido and Aeneas leads the field in that respect, and can be bought at Marketplace for a couple bucks. In my humble opinion the field is led by Hogwood on L'Oiseau-Lyre Henry Purcell: Dido & Aeneas [United Kingdom]: presentation, orchestra an sound are great (although the Telarc sound for Pearlman is even better); Catherine Bott is a Dido to die for, in fact she always sings oto die for, her "Lament" moves to tears every time.
NOTE: Hogwood's version is cheaper at amazon's sister site, amazon.co.uk; don't know whether postage fees would still make it worth ordering from them.

This is a lovely and vibrant performance of Dido and Aeneas. There are no boring moments! The singers convey the emotion of the tragedy while Martin Pearlman does not allow the music to drag as do some conductors. My only problem with the recording is that Nancy Maultsby uses a bit too much vibrato for Baroque singing.

My CD came in a handsome box with an extensive, and multilingual, booklet telling me anything I wanted to know about the opera and the performers. The CD holds not only the entire body of Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas, but also some "Music for Plays and Masques" from various other Purcell works. I love this performance of the piece, and appreciate the small, clear sound director Martin Pearlman achieved with period instruments. The music itself is as powerful to me now as it was when I first bought it. This version has been one of my favorite CDs for over 5 years. and I recommend it highly.

This is a lovely and vibrant performance of Dido and Aeneas. There are no boring moments! The singers convey the emotion of the tragedy while Martin Pearlman does not allow the music to drag as do some conductors. My only problem with the recording is that Nancy Maultsby uses a bit too much vibrato for Baroque singing.