DIDO & AENEAS Purcell – Gran Teatre del Liceu
『ディドとアエネアス』はヘンリー・パーセル作のオペラです。パーセルの作品の中で、厳密な意味での唯一のオペラである。 英国バロックオペラの記念碑的な作品でもあります。(English) Dido and Aeneas is an opera by Henry Purcell. It is the only opera in the strict sense of the word in Purcell's oeuvre. It is also a monumental work of British baroque opera.
DIDO & AENEAS Purcell – Gran Teatre del Liceu
Dido and Aeneas is an opera by Henry Purcell.
It is the only opera in the strict sense of the word in Purcell's oeuvre. It is also a monumental work of British baroque opera.
Overview:
Based on the story of Aeneas, Prince of Troy, and his queen Dido of Carthage, from Virgil's Aeneis.
Written by Purcell in his mid-twenties, it was first performed in the 1680s.
Due to his early death (in 1695 at the age of 36) and the situation at the time, which will be described later, there were few opportunities for performances throughout the 18th and 9th centuries.
So it didn't affect anything else. At the end of the 19th century, however, it began to attract attention as part of the search for a distinct musical language and the revival of classical and folk music in Britain.
Since it was revived in 1895 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of Purcell's death, it has attracted attention and has been performed frequently.
It has also served as a driving force for British composers to create new operatic works.
With a performance time of one hour, it is fortunate that it has been recorded so often for a work of this period.
Role Voice type:
Dido (also known as Elissa), Queen of Carthage soprano or mezzo-soprano
Belinda, Dido's sister and handmaid light soprano
Aeneas, Trojan Prince tenor or high baritone
Sorceress/Sorcerer mezzo-soprano, contralto, countertenor or bass
Composition:
It consists of an overture, 3 acts and five scenes.
The Trojan prince Aeneas has lost his homeland in the Trojan War and sets sail for Italy (Rome) to regain it. His ship is wrecked, and he is disembarked in Carthage, North Africa.
Queen Dido has been exiled from her homeland of Tyros and has just founded a new kingdom in Carthage. She sympathises with Aeneas, but her sympathy turns to love.
Act I
As the overture ends and the curtain opens, inside the palace.
Dido is reluctant to reveal her feelings for Aeneas. Belinda encourages Dido. Aeneas appears.
Surprisingly, he hints at his love for Dido. Dido is confused. But she finally accepts her love and rejoices in the triumph of love and beauty. The curtain falls amidst her joyful singing and dancing.
Act 2
Scene 1
The sorcerer's cave.
The sorcerers delight in bringing misfortune to the wealthy. A sorcerer plans Dido's destruction. A magician gathers his witches.
The sorcerer transforms her into Mercury(ghost, spirits), Jupiter's messenger, and tells Aeneas to leave Carthage.
Scene 2
In the forest.
Aeneas enjoys the hunt with Dido. And Aeneas interrupts the search when a storm breaks out. Aeneas is visited by witches disguised as Mercury.
The witch pretended to be Jupiter and told him to go to Italy as soon as possible to rebuild Troy. Aeneas remembers his mission. After much anguish, Aeneas decides to leave Dido.
Act 3
Scene 1
Boat dock.
The witches appear on the dock, where the preparations for departure have been completed. They mock Dido for being abandoned by her lover. And they plan to kidnap Aeneas after she sails into a storm.
Scene 2
Inside the palace.
Dido laments her separation from Aeneas. Aeneas appears under this Dido. He explains their situation. Dido blames Aeneas for leaving her. Aeneas then informs Dido of his change of heart, and he wants to stay with her again. However, she rejects him, saying that Dido cannot forgive him for once deciding to leave her.
After Aeneas leaves, Dido tells Belinda that she will take her own life. She dies in her arms as she sings, "When I am laid in earth". The curtain falls with a chorus of prayers to Cupid, asking him to watch over her tomb.
DIDO & AENEAS Purcell – Gran Teatre del Liceu
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4JNRhSMUHo
Dido, founder and queen of Carthage, falls in love with the Trojan hero Aeneas and they conduct a passionate affair. Tricked into leaving Dido by an evil Sorceress, Aeneas prepares his fleet secretly for departure. Dido cannot live without Aeneas and sings her great lament ('When I am laid in earth'), and a chorus of cupids mourns her passing.
It is highly unusual for a baroque opera to end tragically, and 300 years after its premiere, Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas still has the power to move with its message about love and loss. Purcell's exquisite music offers contrasting moods, ranging from Dido's heartbreaking lament, via the darker tones of the witches, to the lively songs and dances of the sailors. The Liceu's striking opera and dance production is directed by Blanca Li, who uses choreography to echo the main character's struggles to keep their passions in check. William Christie, the pioneer of period instruments and renowned specialist in baroque repertoire, conducts his ensemble Les Arts Florissants promising a sensitive and unconventional production from Barcelona.
Dido and Aeneas - Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dido_and_Aeneas
Dido and Aeneas - The end of the affair of two legendary lovers sees a deadly destiny fulfilled.
https://www.historytoday.com/archive/foundations/dido-and-aeneas
Dido, founder and queen of Carthage, falls in love with the Trojan hero Aeneas and they conduct a passionate affair. Dido's sister Anna is pleased by the coupling; she believes Aeneas and the warriors alongside him will increase the might of Carthage.
Jupiter thinks otherwise. When he learns of the affair, he sends Mercury to Carthage to remind Aeneas that he must leave for Italy and fulfil his destiny as a Roman. Aeneas prepares his fleet in secret for departure. When Dido finds out, she rages at him as he takes leave and tells Anna, depicted on the right of Guido Reni's painting, to prepare a pyre on which the bed they slept in will burn as will she when, soon after, she commits suicide.
In the final scene of Henry Purcell's 1683 opera Dido and Aeneas, the queen sings:
When I am laid on the earth,
May my wrongs create
No trouble in thy breast;
Remember me, remember
me, but ah! forget my fate.
A choreography by Blanca Li in a new Liceu coproduction conducted by William Christie with Les Arts Florissants
https://www.liceubarcelona.cat/en/temporada-2022-23/ballet/dido-aeneas
"When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create no trouble in thy breast…."
Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is a delightful chamber opera based on Christopher Marlowe's Dido, queen of Carthage. As he has been named, Purcell – the «Orpheus Britannicus» – raised English opera to the peak of elegance and eloquence by composing one of the most remarkable operas ever.
Over 300 years after its premiere, this opera still moves us with its message about love and loss. The tragic story of Dido, the queen of Carthage, and the Trojan prince Aeneas was told by Virgil. Purcell's music is highly varied, ranging from the powerful emotions of Dido's famous lament, via the darker tones of the witches, to the sailors' lively songs and dances.
In this striking opera and dance production, Blanca Li uses her characteristic choreographic idiom to reinterpret this great but sad tale about how the inability to control passion and powerful feelings can end in betrayal and a tragic parting. William Christie, a pioneer of period instruments and a renowned specialist in Baroque music, will be at the head of his ensemble Les Arts Florissants to offer us this sensitive, creative and unconventional performance.