Henry Purcell (1659-1695), England's greatest Baroque composer, wrote mostly sacred and instrumental music during the first part of his tragically short life. In his last five years, when the Protestant monarchs William and Mary restricted music at court, he turned to the theater, producing incidental music for plays, and music for "semi-operas." in which the principal characters had only speaking roles, while the minor characters did all the singing. This arrangement may seem peculiar to us today, but it was perfectly normal in the England of that time. Full-fledged opera did not appeal to English sensibilities until Handel’s arrival a generation later, and even then its hold was tenuous. Purcell wrote four semi-operas, of which The Fairy Queen was by far the most elaborate. In fact, its production was so expensive it nearly banlcrupted the Theatre Royal.
The story is freely adapted from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night's Dream. The unknown librettist "modernized" Shakespeare’s language, omitted a couple of characters, and telescoped the scenes comprising the play of Pyramus and Thisby, but otherwise followed the original scenario fairly closely. Though the script seems bowdlerized to a modern audience, the splendor of the music still impresses, and in fact so enhances the play that any textual questions seem irrelevant. The Fairy Queen was conceived in a prologue and five acts, but our performance is given in two parts, dividing between acts III and IV.
THE STORY. [The synopsis concerns itself only with the singing parts.]
Part One. Queen Titania and her fairy troop torment a Drunken Poet. Four allegorical figures of Night sing Titania to sleep, while King Oberon sprinkles a love potion on her eyelids. When Titania awakes, she falls madly in love with Bottom, a rustic whose head has been magically changed into that of an ass. Fairies and peasants offer dances and entertainments.
Part Two. Oberon and Titania are reconciled amidst more festivities. Oberon creates a magic Chinese garden inhabited by two lovers. Juno arrives in her chariot and warns the lovers against jealousy. A further dance and chorus of rejoicing conclude the spectacle.

First performed in 1689 (or possibly even earlier, according to some recent scholarship), Dido & Aeneas continues to delight audiences today with its beautiful melodies and striking harmonies, its colorful dance sequences and its vivid characters, including cackling witches, gossiping courtiers, and lusty sailors, concluding with one of the noblest arias in all of opera, "Dido's Lament." And Dido & Aeneas is truly an opera, not a masque or semi-opera like most of its English contemporaries. There are no spoken parts, and though the masque genre obviously influenced Dido's balletic moments, the work is sung throughout.
The first verifiable production was at Mr. and Mrs. Josias Priest’s boarding school for girls in Chelsea, with the young ladies taking all the parts except Aeneas, which was sung by a baritone friend of the schoolmaster. Although some of the original music has been lost, or was never written down, what remains is a remarkable piece of musical stagecraft that packs a surprising amount of effective and unforgettable drama into its three short acts.
THE STORY.
Act I. Aeneas has landed at Carthage, in north Africa, having been blown off course on his way, at the behest of
Zeus, to found an empire in Italy. He has fallen madly in love with Dido, the widowed queen of Carthage, who is trying to resist his charms. The queen's sister, Belinda, and all the courtiers perceive that Dido’s deep sighs and clouded brow are the signs of incipient passion, and urge her to return the handsome adventurer's attentions. Despite her doubts, Dido at length relents. In a cave nearby a Sorceress and her three Witches plot the destruction of Carthage and its queen. By nightfall they hope to have tricked Aeneas into leaving the city. They raise a storm and dance fiendishly.
Act II. The festive hunting party of Dido and Aeneas is dispersed by the Witches' storm. All flee to town except Aeneas, held back by an apparition of the god Mercury (really a disguised agent of the Sorceress) who orders the prince to continue his sacred mission without delay-to found the "new Troy" on Italian soil. Sadly, Aeneas must capitulate to the divine command.
Act III. The Trojan sailors dance and prepare to set sail, while the Witches and the Sorceress gleefully rejoice, planning further havoc for Aeneas when he is at sea. With great trepidation Aeneas tries to explain to Dido his imminent departure, but she does not take well to abandonment. She sends Aeneas away, then turns to Belinda and announces her farewell to life. A final chorus of cupids strews roses on Dido's grave.