opera "Dido and Aeneas" by Henry Purcell
E481167
"Dido and Aeneas" is a late 17th-century English Baroque opera by Henry Purcell, renowned for its tragic love story drawn from Virgil's Aeneid and its expressive, ground-bass lament "When I am laid in earth."
Observed surface forms (2)
| Surface form | Occurrences |
|---|---|
| Dido and Aeneas | 0 |
| Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas | 1 |
Statements (48)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
opera
ⓘ
tragic opera ⓘ |
| approximateDuration | about one hour ⓘ |
| basedOn | Aeneid NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| basedOnWorkBy | Virgil NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| catalogueNumber | Z.626 NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| character |
Aeneas
NERFINISHED
ⓘ
Belinda NERFINISHED ⓘ Dido NERFINISHED ⓘ Sailor ⓘ Sorceress ⓘ Witches ⓘ |
| composer | Henry Purcell NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| countryOfOrigin | England ⓘ |
| Dido’sLamentFeature | built over a descending chromatic ground bass ⓘ |
| ending | Dido dies after Aeneas leaves Carthage ⓘ |
| era | Restoration England ⓘ |
| form | through-composed opera with recitatives, arias, and choruses ⓘ |
| genre | Baroque opera ⓘ |
| historicalSignificance |
considered Purcell’s only true opera
ⓘ
one of the earliest known English operas ⓘ |
| influence | important model for later English opera and semi-opera ⓘ |
| language | English ⓘ |
| librettist | Nahum Tate NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| musicalFeature |
dance movements
ⓘ
extensive use of ground bass ⓘ prominent choruses ⓘ |
| notableAria |
Ah! Belinda, I am pressed with torment
ⓘ
When I am laid in earth NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableChorus | Great minds against themselves conspire ⓘ |
| notableNumber | Dido’s Lament NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| notableRecordingHistory | widely recorded by leading early music and opera ensembles ⓘ |
| numberOfActs | 3 ⓘ |
| originalPerformanceForces |
chorus
ⓘ
small Baroque orchestra ⓘ solo voices ⓘ |
| performanceTradition | frequently staged by professional and student opera companies ⓘ |
| period | late 17th century ⓘ |
| plotSummary | The opera tells the tragic love story of Queen Dido of Carthage and the Trojan hero Aeneas, whose departure leads to Dido’s death. ⓘ |
| premiereDate | 1689 ⓘ |
| premierePlace | Josias Priest’s girls’ school, Chelsea, London NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| settingLocation | Carthage NERFINISHED ⓘ |
| settingPeriod | ancient times ⓘ |
| style | English Baroque ⓘ |
| theme |
betrayal
ⓘ
fate ⓘ love and duty ⓘ suicide ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
this entity surface form:
Dido in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas