Dido and Aeneas Opera - Purcell

[Dave]

Hello everyone,

Rambling post warning!

Quite by chance while channel hopping yesterday evening, I stumbled across a 1995 "Made for TV" performance of the first true English opera, and one of the best, Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. I have never seen this mentioned or shown before on all of my fif*cough* odd years and a quick internet search reveals that it's pretty hard to get hold of on DVD.

This opera may of course be interesting to some Hayley fans because she recorded "Dido's Lament" for the UK original edition of Odyssey - and I for one am delighted that she did!. Not only is it one of my favorite tracks from the album but it led me to read up on the story of the opera... one of the great tragedies in all opera.

Knowing the story and loving that final aria, I did of course dash for the video "record" button, watched the entire opera (only an hour) and hoped that I hadn't missed too much at the start.. Well I was lucky! I missed two minutes of it but none of the arias or dialogue.. phew! Of course, I knew what would happen at the end... the same as when I listen to it on Odyssey except that it's even more poignant when Dido dies, having just watched the story develop.

There is another Hayley connection! This opera was recorded at Hampton Court Palace near London... and some of us have been lucky enough to see and hear Hayley singing there - twice! Maria Ewing plays Dido, Karl Daymond plays Aeneas and Rebecca Evans plays Belinda. Maria Ewing has what I'd say is a slightly odd looking face (could be the makeup) and occasionally she is a little out with the lip-syncing - but her singing voice is what matters and it's very good (if you like operatic). Also, the story is a very good one albeit with a tragic ending.

Now to get to the point. Has anyone else read up on, or seen, this opera? Is anyone interested in seeing it? And would anyone wish to spend time downloading to watch, it if I were to digitise it? Having a broadband Internet connection is almost certainly a must! It would probably be in Windows Media format and at least 400 kbps for reasonable quality, in 3 or 4 sections (one for each act, maybe two for the final act) of 40 - 50 MB each and each section would take 10 to 20 minutes to download.. and watch. Or am I the only one who Hayley has introduced to Early English Opera? Quite possibly!

Dido and Aeneas Libretto is here

Dave

[graemek]

No Dave I don't know the opera but you've got me curious!
I've done a lot of connecting up & searching for histories etc. since being swept away by HW & would be happy to add that opera to the data base as it were.
But please wait until you've got a few requests before you go to the trouble. Thanks for the kind offer.
Graemek
Speaking for myself only I have broadband so even 100Mb doesn't sound that big a deal to me.

PS I just modified my response which was misleading.

[postscript]

To answer your ‘rambling’ post (which was very much to the point) succinctly (says the man of many words) I think you raise an interesting proposition and area for debate.

When one has an artiste of such outstanding quality as Hayley I think, frankly, she can lead most of us anywhere! This is something she should consider, that where she goes, the larger part of her core fan base will follow, almost regardless and she would acquire additional support through moving into that new field.

I call to mind that conversation of Robert Bolt’s devising in A Man For All Seasons when Henry VIII is cajoling Moore to drop his principles and follow him for ‘companionship’s sake’. Moore replies, 'And when, My Lord, you are assigned to Heaven for following your conscience and I am consigned to Hell for not following mine, will you come along with me for 'companionship’s sake'? I’d follow Hayley anywhere, my only saving grace being her road is most likely to be to Heaven anyway!

There is a sound argument that much early music is more demanding in not only the writing and playing but also in listening than the heavy orchestration of the 19thcentury writing onwards, because it relies upon fewer instruments and therefore depends more upon purity of tune and its development.

I think we are often led to new vistas by following an artist whom we respect. I was brought to an appreciation of early music and early instruments through my Shakespearian acting. Producers really thrilled to the opportunities of open-air production and brought in the period dances and developed the opportunities for minstrel ballads and period instruments, where the actors were taught to play the lute and lyre sufficiently well for a one-song in a play to add extraordinary realism.

If one looks at ‘Prayer’, ‘Bachianas Brasileiras’, ‘Bridal Ballad’, ‘Laudate Dominum’ and Cassinis’ ‘Ave Maria’, she has arguably moved into that early English style of music and perhaps this ‘more demanding’ scenario is what leads her into the folklore ballad style?

To some extent her orientation towards church music opens up early music if not necessarily of the English variety.

So, in direct answer to your question, I would be interested in following down the path you propose.

Peter S.