Dido and Aeneas

opera by Purcell

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June 25, 2026

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Dido and Aeneas is a tragic opera by English composer Henry Purcell, with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The opera is based on the story of Dido, the queen of Carthage, and the Trojan hero Aeneas, as told in the fourth book of Virgil's Aeneid.123

In the opera, Dido falls in love with Aeneas after he seeks refuge in Carthage. However, Aeneas abandons her to fulfill his destiny, leading to Dido's despair and suicide. Purcell's score is known for its dramatic intensity and effective use of a ground bass, particularly in Dido's lament. The opera was first performed around 1689 at a girls' school in Chelsea.231

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Henry Purcell
Music for theatre
…until 1689, when he wrote Dido and Aeneas (libretto by Nahum Tate) for performance at a girls’ school in Chelsea; this work achieves a high degree of dramatic intensity within a narrow framework. From that time until his death, he was constantly employed in writing music for the public theatres.…
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…until 1689, when he wrote Dido and Aeneas (libretto by Nahum Tate) for performance at a girls’ school in Chelsea; this work achieves a high degree of dramatic intensity within a narrow framework. From that time until his death, he was constantly employed in writing music for the public theatres.…
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opera
Early opera in France and England
1683) by John Blow and Dido and Aeneas (1689) by Henry Purcell. The latter, with a libretto by Nahum Tate, contains one of the earliest arias to remain in the repertoire: Dido’s Italianate lament,“When I Am Laid in Earth,” composed over a ground bass. By synthesizing Italian, French, and English…
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1683) by John Blow and Dido and Aeneas (1689) by Henry Purcell. The latter, with a libretto by Nahum Tate, contains one of the earliest arias to remain in the repertoire: Dido’s Italianate lament,“When I Am Laid in Earth,” composed over a ground bass. By synthesizing Italian, French, and English…
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Edward Gordon Craig
Early life
…designs for productions: Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (1900) and George Frideric Handel’s Acis and Galatea (1902) for the Purcell Operatic Society and Henrik Ibsen’s The Vikings (1903) for Terry’s company at the Imperial Theatre, London. In his sets, decor, and costumes for these productions, Craig asserted his revolutionary theories…
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…designs for productions: Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas (1900) and George Frideric Handel’s Acis and Galatea (1902) for the Purcell Operatic Society and Henrik Ibsen’s The Vikings (1903) for Terry’s company at the Imperial Theatre, London. In his sets, decor, and costumes for these productions, Craig asserted his revolutionary theories…
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