Opera 101 with OperaQ

The opera Dido and Aeneas was written in the 1680s by English composer Henry Purcell. The libretto — the text for the opera — was written by the playwright Nahum Tate.

The story comes from Greek and Roman mythology, in particular the Aeneid, an epic poem written by the Roman poet Virgil around 20 BCE.

Because it’s an opera, all of the text is sung by the main characters and the chorus. The chorus can act as various characters, or they can comment on the action more impartially.

We don’t know exactly when Dido and Aeneas was written, or when it was first performed.  The first recorded performance took place at a girls’ school in London around 1688.  However, it’s possible that the opera had been performed previously at the English court, for either King Charles II or King James II.

Because we don’t have an autograph score (the original score as written out by the composer) today there are many re-constructed versions of Dido and Aeneas—but no one knows exactly what the first performance might have been like.

This gives musicians and directors a certain amount of freedom to make decisions about how they will present Dido and Aeneas — which is exactly why we chose it for our first project!

In the Baroque era (1600-1750) composers often used two different groupings of instruments, known as the continuo group and the orchestra.  You might be familiar with the orchestra, which is made up of string instruments including violins, viola, and cello, and sometimes wind instruments like oboes and bassoons. 

Baroque composers also used a smaller group of instruments called the continuo.  This group includes plucked instruments like lute, guitar, or theorbo, keyboard instruments like harpsichord or organ, and usually a bass instrument such as a cello.  This smaller group usually plays when just one soloist is singing, so their voice doesn’t have to work as hard to project.  Because the continuo group is smaller, it is also easier for them to follow the singer as they express the words, giving the singer more freedom in their dramatic interpretation.

There may be some instruments at the performance which you have never seen before.  Feel free to talk to the players after the show if you have any questions!  Here’s a short explanation of two of those instruments:

The harpsichord is a historical keyboard instrument, an ancestor of the modern piano.  But unlike a piano, which sounds when a hammer strikes a string, the harpsichord uses tiny hooks called plectra to pluck the strings.  This is what gives a harpsichord its distinctive sound, in some ways similar to a guitar or a harp.

The theorbo is a relative of the lute and the guitar, but it has more strings and a much longer neck, which allows for a larger range including lower notes.  If you want to learn more about the theorbo, here’s a great video: