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| The One-Act Opera Festival |
| Synopsis Act 1: Dido's court The opera opens with Dido in her court with her attendants. Belinda is trying to cheer up Dido, but Dido is full of sorrow, saying 'Peace and I are strangers grown'. Belinda believes the source of this grief to be the Trojan Æneas, and suggests that Carthage's troubles could be resolved by a marriage between the two. Dido and Belinda talk for a time, and then Belinda and the Second Woman sing a duet. The court then again tries to raise Dido's spirits, followed by Æneas entering the court. He is at first received coldly by Dido, but she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage. Act 2: Scene 1: The cave of the Sorceress The witch is plotting the destruction of Carthage and its queen, and calls in her companions to help her in her evil plans. She plans to send her "trusted elf" disguised as Mercury, someone to whom Æneas will surely listen, to tempt him to leave Dido and head back to Troy. This would leave Dido heart-broken, and she would surely die. The chorus join in with terrible laughter, and the Enchantresses decide to conjure up a storm to make Dido and her train leave the grove and head back to the palace. When the spell is prepared, the witches vanish in a thunderclap. Act 2: Scene 2: A grove during the middle of a hunt Dido and Æneas are accompanied by their train. They stop at the grove to take in its beauty. A lot of action is going on, with attendants carrying goods from the hunt and a picnic possibly taking place, and Dido and Æneas are together within the activity. This is all stopped when Dido hears a distant thunder, prompting Belinda to tell the servants to prepare for a return to shelter as soon as possible. As every other character leaves the stage, Æneas is stopped by the Sorceress's elf who is disguised as Mercury. This pretend Mercury brings the command of Jove that Æneas is to wait no longer in beginning his task of creating a new Troy on Latin soil. Æneas consents to the wishes of what he believes are the gods, but is heart-broken that he will have to leave Dido. He then goes off-stage to prepare for his departure from Carthage. Act 3: The harbor at Carthage Preparations are being made for the departure of the Trojan fleet. The sailors sing a song, which is followed shortly by the Sorceress and her companions' sudden appearance. The group is happy with how well their plan has worked, and the Sorceress sings a solo describing her further plans for the destruction of Æneas "on the ocean". All the characters begin to clear the stage after a dance in three sections, and then disperse. The palace Dido and Belinda enter, shocked at Æneas’ disappearance. Dido is distraught and Belinda comforts her. Suddenly Æneas returns, but Dido is full of fear before Æneas speaks, and his words only serve to confirm her suspicions. She derides his reasons for leaving, and even when Æneas says he will defy the gods and not leave Carthage, Dido rejects him for having once thought of leaving her. After Dido forces Æneas to leave, she states that "Death must come when he is gone." The opera and Dido's life both slowly come to a conclusion, as the Queen of Carthage sings her last aria, "When I am laid in Earth", also known as "Dido's Lament." The chorus and orchestra then conclude the opera once Dido is dead by ordering the "cupids to scatter roses on her tomb, soft and gentle as her heart. Keep here your watch, and never never never part." |
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| Dido and Æneas by Henry Purcell Directed by Bryce Smith Dido (soprano/mezzo) - Aeneas (tenor / baritone) - Belinda (soprano) - Sorceress (mezzo / contralto) - First Witch (mezzo) - Second Witch (mezzo) - Second Woman (soprano / mezzo) - Spirit, Mercury (soprano / counter-tenor) - First Sailor (tenor) - Chorus of courtiers, witches, sailors, and cupids |