(...continued from page 1) Q: You have performed Dido and Aeneas many times in different roles. You also made a highly acclaimed recording of this work with Christopher Hogwood and Emma Kirkby in 1995. Please share your thoughts about this particular opera.

A: Dido and Aeneas has a very special history. It premiered, as we know, at a girls’ dancing school. Some say that the dancing master performed the role of Aeneas himself. Also, there is no Autograph (signed score) in Purcell’s hand. There are many discrepancies between the extant scores -- different notes, rhythms, and even entire pieces.

The opera’s duration is a mere hour. And even though Purcell is not demanding vocally, the opera is emotionally demanding. For example, the part of Dido has only two big arias, but her last one “When I am laid in earth,” is very passionate, and has this famous descending line associated with grief.

Besides the immortal Lament, my favorite aria is that of second woman, “Oft she visits this lov’d mountain.” Purcell is the master of the ostinato bass, a repetitive harmonic and melodic pattern in the continuo part. It helps to organize the piece formally but, through Purcell’s mastery, it recedes from the consciousness of the listener. The ostinato of the famous Lament is subtle and brilliantly handled. Chromatic descending basses in the Baroque were used to represent the AFFEKT grief, which is of course Dido’s state of mind before she commits suicide.

I have sung Dido and Aeneas many times, most recently in Pittsburgh about 3 years ago, in a performance which was named “one of the 10 best performances of the year” in Pittsburgh. This was one of the most emotionally charged events for me. (continued on page 3...)