Purcell: Dido & Aeneas

La Nuova Musica and its artistic director David Bates present Henry Purcell’s most widely admired work Dido and Aeneas. With Nathum Tate’s libretto based on Virgil’s Aeneid Book IV; Dido and Aeneas is a miniature opera; as well as the only all-sung opera Purcell ever composed. Constantly juxtaposing different moods; colours; orchestrations; this semi-opera enjoys the popularity for its “tunefulness; evocative power; and […] its conciseness”. The guiding star that David Bates wants to follow for this recording is making sure that Purcell’s Italian; French; and English musical influences are all emphasized – by adding a typically Italian harp to the continuo or by doubling the strings just as in the French tradition. Dido and Aeneas includes one of the most touching operatic laments “When I am laid in earth”. A cast of first-class singers with strong musical personalities offer an eclectic interpretation together with a chorus that creates a visceral and intrinsically dramatic soundworld. Dido and Aeneas is David Bates and La Nuova Musica’s fourth release; after the acclaimed Gluck Orfeo and Euridice (2019) and Handel’s Unsung Heroes (2021); as well as Beauteous Softness (2023) where they joined forces with Tim Mead. Counter-tenor Tim Mead previously released Pentatone’s Handel Messiah (2020) with Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin. Star tenor Nicky Spence; Fleur Barron; Matthew Brook; Giulia Semenzato all make their Pentatone debut.