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my first association with Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas was as a singer. Initially I learned only Dido’s Lament, but gradually I came to know and love the entire opera. Much later, in the course of preparing and writing Handel and the Pastoral Tradition, I became fascinated with Dido’s historical position in Restoration theater. Although many still view it as some sort of operatic anomaly, Dido and Aeneas is actually deeply rooted in English seventeenth-century theatrical and musical traditions. Most recently, I prepared a new edition of the opera. This led me, of course, to a detailed study of the surviving sources. The background for this book, therefore, derives equally from my vocal, historical, and editorial interest in Purcell’s remarkable opera. I only hope, in addition to whatever else the book offers about Dido and Aeneas, that it succeeds in communicating my continued delight in and enthusiasm for it.
The book is organized so that it examines the history of Dido’s creation and critical reception in as close to chronological order as possible. Thus, Part I begins with a brief summary of the cultural climate in which Dido was written, including the contemporary musical and theatrical conventions. It then examines the choice of the subject and its classical and modern antecedents. Finally, the literary style of the finished libretto is analyzed in light of English seventeenth-century discussions on how to write text for a musical setting.
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