Jul 03 2009
First Genuine English opera by Henry Purcell
Some specialists consider Henry Purcell (1659-1695) the first English opera composer. Others pass this honorary title to his mentor John Bow. No matter who is right or wrong, his famous opera Dido and Aeneas is the first genuine English opera masterpiece.
Henry wrote his monumental baroque opera to a libretto created by Nahum Tate. It comprises three acts and lasts about an hour. There is some evidence suggesting that opera was played much earlier than the official date. However, formal opening date for now is 1689 when Purcell presented it in cooperation with dancing master and choreographer Josiah Priest. Priests’s wife kept a boarding school for young gentlewomen, where Purcell presented his opera for the first time.
Amazingly, at the time “Dido and Aeneas” never found its way to the opera house, though it appears to have been very popular in private circles. Opera became so popular that it has been extensively copied, but only one song was printed by Purcell’s widow. The complete work remained in manuscript until 1840, when it was printed for the first time by the Musical Antiquarian Society.
No score in Purcell’s hand exists. The only 17th century source is a libretto, possibly from the original performance. Another problem is that no later sources follow the act divisions of the libretto, and the music to the prologue is lost.