h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

I enjoyed this entry thoroughly. It manages to explore the musical elements thoroughly enough while also displaying an enthusiasm altogether rare for music theorists.

For some reason, I didn't have this entry included in the Musicians Guild directory of related entries. I added it this morning. For those unaware, the Musicians Guild is at http://www.h2g2.com/U150368

Our directory of entries is here: http://www.h2g2.com/U150368

Thanks for this inspiring entry (). I enjoyed it very much, all the more because Dido and Aeneas was the first opera I learned to love and I still enjoy listening to it, although I don't think that it's as good as for example Purcell's Fairy Queen. It's much shorter, too, and I keep wondering, whether perhaps major parts of it are missing?
That would explain the somewhat thin story-line. As you said, the lyrics are not exactly a masterpiece of English poetry and Dido seems to be unusually stubborn: Although Aeneas changes his mind about leaving her, she insists on commiting suicide anyway ("'for 'tis enough that you once thought of leaving me") - phew. The man made a mistake and admitted it, no need to kill oneself, I'd say.
I wonder whether there's a record of D & A with John E. Gardiner conducting, as he did an absolutely fabulous job on The Fairy Queen.

I think Dido is an absolute idiot. For pity's sake, she claims to be doing it for her empire- but then since as soon as she rejects Aeneas she starts moaning to that poor Belinda 'Death is now a welcome guest' since I don't believe she had any children, what exactly did she expect would happen to Carthage when she died? I think she was just determined to be unhappy.

Thanks for your comments

John Eliot Gardner has recorded D&A- his recording has by far and away the best chorus of the three that I studied- they're the only ones who really get the feeling of an echo in the Echo Chorus 'In our deep vaulted cell' but his Dido is a bit of a warbler.
For the best Dido you want a recording of Emma Kirkby. Her voice is spectacular- so very pure.

If it's any consolation, Virgil's Dido was a much more sympathetic figure. He explained her particular problem in the Aeneid much better than it sounds like the opera did.

Consider this. Dido, as a woman, didn't expect to become the supreme ruler of her people. Usually a male would take the throne, but none was available among her generation. When she became queen, she took on a huge responsibility both for taking care of her people and for preventing war by upholding the royal line. Her affair with Aeneas was perhaps impetuous, but was probably what she considered her last chance to feel like a person -- instead of just a monarch queen bee.

But when Aeneas left, she had no heir by him. And worse, she was now considered unfit to marry by her own society. She would be considered spoiled goods by potential mates, and respect for her among members of the court would become much lower as well. So the royal line was destined to end with her, no matter what she did in the future. And she had also lost a potential alliance with Rome, which she somehow knew in the Aeneid would become a formidable empire.

Her country was already in a weak position, and so she feared it would be attacked as soon as it became clear the royal line was in such a sorry state. Even if a foreign nation didn't sweep in and take the commoners for slaves, internal intrigues among people with some small claim to the throne would have ripped the country apart from the inside. It's quite likely if she hadn't killed herself that she would have been assassinated soon anyway. At least she was able to chose her method of dying if she committed suicide.

Rather than watch her world crumble around her as a result of her own mistake while waiting for the day she was poisoned or stabbed in the back, she offed herself. Aeneas, meanwhile, didn't understand the cultural differences that meant Dido was a dead woman if he left her behind. He assumed she could remarry and move on with her life. Very sad.

Emma Kirkby did D & A? WOW! Thanks for telling me, I'll buy the record right away.
As for Dido: She must've had a lot of foresight to know about Rome as a potential ally - It was not before Aeneas' son Julus (later known as Romulus and Caesar's alleged ancestor) that Rome was even founded. Right after that it was conquered by the Etruscans who consindered it not much more than a minor nuisance. Some 7 Etruscan rulers later the Romans decided they were better off without any king and that was when they - slowly - started to become a major player first in Italy and then some hundred years later in the Mediterranean theater.
Anyway, it's a legend and Aeneas - well, he wasn't too bright, either, was he?

Thats the other curious (although, given its original circumstances in a girl's school its easy to see why) thing about this Opera- Although its called Dido and Aeneas, Aeneas gets hardly anything to do at all. Dido gets a couple of incredibly memorable arias, and lots and lots of recitative, but Aeneas.... poor bloke.

He's a shmock, let's face it.
But maybe some parts of the opera (e.g. an Aeneas aria) are missing? That'd explain why there's not much of a story, too.

Actually I think that the unclearness of the story has more to do with the fashion of the time- the original plot, without the witches, imo hung together much better. But the country was going through a 'witches' fad at the time... the other logical thing which ought to have happened was the gods lynching the witches for daring to impersonate them....

... and Aeneas commiting suicide for being such a jerk. But then he (or rather his son) wouldn't have founded Rome, which would have probably spared us a lot of things
The whole thing seems to be pretty confused as ancient Greeks didn't even know witches, as far as I know. The supports your point that the witches were only included in order to make the audience happy. Anyway the music's marvellous ...no matter what kind of story it tells

"THAT supports...", not "THE supports ..." - silly me.

Cannot find a recording of the entire Dido by Kathleen Ferrier, only excerpts. Help, anybody?

Try putting your questions into <./>Askh2g2</.>, more researchers will see it there

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