School of Music

Dido and Aeneas - 2000
by Henry Purcell

ACT I - Scene 1 - Dido, queen of Carthage, appears, surrounded by her court and attended by her lay-in waiting, Belinda. Dido is unhappy and Belinda suggests it it the presence of the Trojan prince, Aeneas, which is at the root of the queen's sorrow. Belinda tells Dido that the prince does indeed love her, and that a union between the two would not only bring the queen the happiness she deserves, but Carthage would also benefit. Aeneas enters and proclaims his devotion to the queen, and the scene end with Dido's acceptance celebrated by the whole court.
Scene 2 - An evil Sorceress and her companions plot the destruction of Dido and Carthage. Meanwhile, Dido, Aeneas, and followers are engaged in a hunt.

ACT II - The hunting group pause in the grove during the hunt, Belinda and an attendant woman sing of the peculiar delights and evils of the spot they have just reached. Suddenly Dido hears distant thunder and all make haste for twon. Aeneas is stopped by the appearance of the god Mercury (really a witch in disguise and in our production the character entitled "Spirit") who tells him he must leave Carthage to found the new Troy on Latin soil. Aeneas accepts the commands, but dreads leaving Dido.

JennyRebecca Winans, Katrina Cline, and Andrea Hudson

ACT III - All is in preparation for the Trojan fleet's departure, as sailors sing and dance about leaving their loves. The Sorceress appears, gleeful at the success of her destructieve plan. Now she wants to destroy Aeneas. Dido and Belinda come down to the haror, Dido fearful that Aeneas will abandon her. Aeneas tells her that he will defy the gods and stay with her, but Dido says that she will have nothing to do with a lover who once thought of leaving her. After Aeneas leaves, the heartbroken Dido and her attendants prepare her farewell to life.

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