Timaeus of Tauromenium, a Greek historian, suggested that Carthage and Rome were founded at the same time, implying a meeting between Dido and Aeneas.
Composition History
Virgil's Aeneid, a Roman epic poem, was a primary source for many theatrical adaptations from the sixteenth century onwards, often presenting Dido and Aeneas with differing viewpoints.
Composition History
Nahum Tate, the librettist for Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, initially wrote a play called Brutus of Alba, or The Enchanted Lovers, which was a thinly disguised retelling of Book IV of the Aeneid.
Compositional Technique
Busenello's Didone introduced an unexpected twist to Virgil's story, where Dido, instead of dying, marries her suitor Iarbas, allowing sensual love to triumph over destiny.
Composition History
The tragic story of Dido, Queen of Carthage, and Aeneas, a Trojan hero, has roots in the 3rd century BCE, when the Trojan hero was first introduced to the Phoenician myth.
Composition History
Giovan Francesco Busenello, a Venetian lawyer and librettist, wrote the first true opera about the Queen of Carthage, Didone, in 1641, with music by Francesco Cavalli.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Purcell's Dido and Aeneas is considered a truly European opera, influenced by English, French, and Italian traditions, including Shakespearean theatre, Venetian musical drama, and the masques of John Blow and Marc-Antoine Charpentier.
