Search - Henry Purcell, Anthony Lewis, Thurston Dart :: Purcell: Dido and Aeneas / James, Lewis, Baker, Herincx

Marvelous performances with two reservations

F. Behrens | Keene, NH USA | 04/28/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"By a coincidence, an opera company I am allied with was preparing a "youth" production of Purcell's "Dido and Aeneas" at the very time I received a copy of the 1961 production which is now part of the EMI Legendary Performances series: (289 466 387 -2). So I was very interested in the vocal interpretations of these characters whose stories were assumed to be known by librettist Nahum Tate and whose traits had to be sketched strongly and quickly by the composer. Scarcely any time for deep personality development in the 55 minutes this play takes up. Janet Baker is a marvel in the role of Dido, as the earlier commentators never tired of saying; and what she does vocally to create a believable person should be assigned listening for all singers--and not only those playing Dido. She gets tremendous help from the English Chamber Orchestra and St. Anthony's Singers under Anthony Lewis, whose brisk pacing never lets the score lag, and from a good Belinda in Patricia Clark. I cannot say much for the Aeneas of Raimund Herincx, whose voice is far too gruff for both the character and the style of singing, which is out of synch with that of the others. Another drawback is the Sorceress of Monica Sinclair (who might be familiar to many as the contralto in most of the EMI Gilbert & Sullivan recordings from the late 1950s and early 1960s). We have no idea if Purcell meant her to be comic, but the use of a Wicked Witch of the West voice simply does not work in this opera. Indeed it would not work even in "Hansel and Gretel"! But Baker steals the show and hearing her performance is a prerequisite to understanding this opera fully."

INFANDUM, REGINA, IUBES RENOVARE DOLOREM (Aeneid 2/3)

DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 10/02/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I can't recommend this strongly enough to music-lovers who, like me, are not very well up in 17th century composers. First, this opera has a good strong, clear libretto. The story moves fast, the characters and situations are strongly delineated and contrasted, the sense of developing tragedy is powerful and moving. Purcell's Dido has has the stature of Virgil's
--- regina graui iamdudum saucia cura ---
--- the queen long since wounded with a heavy care
a queen and a strong woman driven to suicide by a betrayed love, the part grandly realised by Baker. Herincx has the right idea of Aeneas too, big and 'heroic' despite needing only token prompting from the powers above to abandon Dido and anything she might have meant to him. Virgil's malevolent Juno is replaced by a stagy cast of witches and whatnot, and rightly so for greater theatricality. (I'm OK by staginess and exaggeration here.)For those like myself whose idea of opera starts with Handel and gets going properly with Gluck, this piece is not easy listening to begin with.It has been an education to learn how the musical resources of the 17th century can be equal to a story as powerful as this. I do not comment on details of the performance as it is still unfamiliar ground to me, but I do not expect ever to find it anything except magnificent."

A Performance Resonating With Emotional Intensity

Classicalfan | Reston, VA USA | 11/25/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Janet Baker's performance of Dido's Lament is absolutely stunning in its emotional intensity and would be enough to make this performance unforgettable. But there is more to commend this recording. Baker's vocal clarity, and of all of the other characters, is another outstanding feature of this CD. The chorus is first-rate throughout this recording, especially at the end, as they sing, "With drooping wings ye Cupids come, and scatter roses on her tomb . . . " Although another reviewer has commented that he finds Raimund Herincx's voice as Aeneas too gruff, I find powerful, moving, and thoroughly convincing, as when he lowers his voice and sings in a voice that is anything but gruff, "but with more ease could die."



It's true, as one of the other reviewers comments, that there is something about Monica Sinclair's voice and enunciation as the Sorceress that reminds one a bit of the Wicked Witch of the West and gives her performance an air of contrived theatricality, making her supposed malevolence less than convincing. But the other aspects of this performance are so outstanding that this one reservation is not enough to lower my rating below a 5.



The performance of the English Chamber Orchestra and of Thurston Dart on harpsichord are also of the highest quality.



The quality of the sound from this analog recording made in 1961 is outstanding; the sound engineers who have made this 24-bit digital remastering are truly to be commended.



The CD booklet contains photos of Janet Baker and Raimund Herincx, the entire libretto, and two well-written and informative essays, the first by Alan Blyth on Janet Baker, with an analysis of her singing, and the second by one of the original performers on this recording, Thurston Dart (harpsichord), on the story and music of this beautiful opera.

Very highly recommended."