Purcell - Dido & Aeneas | Chandos - Chaconne CHAN0757

Purcell - Dido & Aeneas

£14.49

Currently out of stock at the UK suppliers. Available to order, but is likely to take longer than usual to despatch

Label: Chandos - Chaconne

Cat No: CHAN0757

Format: CD

Number of Discs: 1

Genre: Opera

Release Date: 5th January 2009

Contents

Artists

Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano)
Gerald Finley (baritone)
Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Patricia Bardon (mezzo-soprano)
William Purefoy (counter-tenor)
Sarah Tynan (soprano)
John Mark Ainsley (tenor)
Carys Lane (soprano)
Rebecca Outram (soprano)
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Conductors

Steven Devine
Elizabeth Kenny

Works

Purcell, Henry

Dido and Aeneas

Artists

Sarah Connolly (mezzo-soprano)
Gerald Finley (baritone)
Lucy Crowe (soprano)
Patricia Bardon (mezzo-soprano)
William Purefoy (counter-tenor)
Sarah Tynan (soprano)
John Mark Ainsley (tenor)
Carys Lane (soprano)
Rebecca Outram (soprano)
Choir of the Age of Enlightenment
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment

Conductors

Steven Devine
Elizabeth Kenny

About

A new recording of the first English operatic masterpiece, Purcell’s tragedy Dido and Aeneas, starring Sarah Connolly and Gerald Finley, with the Age of Enlightenment Orchestra and Choir.

Directed from the keyboard by Steven Devine and Elizabeth Kenny as in recent concert performances, the ensemble presents the opera in a version that incorporates other dance works by Purcell, a version which Sarah Connolly performed at Teatro alla Scala in 2006. The musicological backdrop to this recording results in a performance closer to the court entertainment of Purcell’s day, in which musical dramas evolved from the English theatre tradition.

Sarah Connolly, the quintessential Dido of the early twenty-first century, has been the driving force behind this recording. She writes of the project, ‘It seems I have known Purcell’s Dido all my life and feel able to express myself in this music like no other… As a character, Dido fascinates me to the point of obsession’.

Connolly has performed with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment on many occasions, including two productions at Glyndebourne – Giulio Cesare and St Matthew Passion – as well as Dido and Aeneas at the Proms, the South Bank Centre and Tetbury Festival. One recent review of Connolly’s Dido had the following to say: ‘It was the sheer depth of emotion Connolly infused in her portrayal of Dido that was truly remarkable. Emotion flowed off the stage from the intensity in her voice and through her actions. Her final aria, one of the most beautiful in English baroque music, brought a tear to the eye in a hall so quiet you could hear a pin drop… a moving portrayal of this tragic heroine’ (MusicalCriticism.com)

An impressive performance by an extraordinary group of musicians.
Penguin Guide 4 stars Gramophone Editor's Choice

Error on this page? Let us know here

Need more information on this product? Click here