Henry Purcell (1659-1695)
Dido and Aeneas, Opera in 3 Acts
Dido: Sonya Yoncheva (soprano)
Belinda: Sarah Charles (soprano)
Aeneas: Halidou Nombre (baritone)
Choeur de l’Opéra Royal
Orchestre de l’Opéra Royal/Stefan Plewniak
rec. 19 October 2024, Opéra Royal de Versailles, France
Includes booklet with essays, notes and synopsis in French and English
Château de Versailles Spectacles CVS188 Blu-ray/DVD [85]

Since my colleague Ralph Moore published his useful survey of recordings of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas there have been one or two superb new versions which have much to commend them. I am sorry to report however, this new Blu-ray/DVD, despite enshrining some successes, will not be joining the pantheon of the greatest and most desirable accounts of this great masterpiece of the 1680s. The product from CdV is of high quality: a nice, fold-out cardboard case containing both Blu-ray and DVD and a very plush and well-produced booklet. The performance is staged from the Opéra Royal de Versailles, involving singers, dancers and musicians from the Academie de l’Opéra Royal and directed from the violin by their regular leader Stefan Plewniak. In the title role we have the great Bulgarian spinto Sonya Yoncheva. The production is colourful, lively and poignant at times. As a piece of theatre, it has the capacity to compel, but it is fatally flawed by some poor performances in important roles and the enunciation of several key members of the cast.

In an excellent essay in the booklet, Dorian Astor makes the case for the many French influences on this work which I find wholly convincing. She also subscribes to the now prevalent theory that the piece does indeed date from a few years earlier than most of us always believed. This may seem trifling but there is a big difference between the England (and France) of 1685 with that of 1689. The country moved from the Carolean era, as Charles II had been on the throne since the restoration of 1660, through the short reign of his Catholic brother James II to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and its figurehead, the Dutch Prince of Orange, William, while in France in that year war had started, and England was about to become embroiled in it. Louis XIV started melting down the silver at Versailles to pay for it!

The genre of the tragédie lyrique, fostered at the French court and exemplified in the works of Lully was by the mid-1680s beginning to be noticed on our side of La Manche. In 1686, Lully’s Cadmus et Hermione was given in London. Purcell, I believe, was also aware of some of the works of Marc-Antoine Charpentier whose style and finesse he must have admired. We also know he used Blow’s Venus and Adonis as a model when composing Dido and Aeneas. Stefan Plewniak in putting together the edition for this production has expanded Purcell’s four-part string writing adding recorders, an oboe and a bassoon. There are also a couple of theorbos which Plewniak supplements with harp in the Italian manner for the continuo. The band have a blast, and their commitment is infectious. There are sharp strong attacks and a bounce and drive that is fresh and invigorating. Plewniak adds in extra music (actually a little too much) mostly by Purcell but I think I hear a piece by Locke, too. The booklet doesn’t go into detail as regards sources, but I think there are hornpipes, chaconnes and overtures from works like King Arthur and Timon of Athens. The most substantial musical interlude is the sonata or sinfonye they play after the Echo Dance of Furies between the two scenes of Act 2.

The production up on stage is devised by Cécile Rousset and Julien Lubek. If I use the word circus then you perhaps will get an idea of their conception. The sets are in the tradition of the period and are moveable in the conventional manner. We are on the Carthaginian coastline, the deep blue of the Mediterranean a constant presence. There are rocky grottos on either side. Dance is a big part of this production and there are plenty of acrobats, too, including some impressive trapeze artistry. Dido and her attendants are costumed in the classical style (Belinda seems very Carthaginian), Aeneas robed as if he were already a Roman Emperor. In Act 2, after wind and thunder effects we become acquainted for the first time with the Sorceress and her attendant Witches. I think Rousset and Lubek must have enjoyed watching the Netflix classic Stranger Things (as I did), as the man-lizards and scary octopus-like sea monster remind me of some of the creepy terrors dreamed up in the fantasy world of that series. The witches first appear suspended mid-air with their mermaid-like tails exposed. In Act 3, after the Trojan ship has been fully provisioned, the spectral trio are back and take over the ship, the octopus’ arms sticking out through the portholes. The final scene is touching; as Dido sings her great lament, Belinda and the second woman release the huge train of her dress, the fabric extends outwards in yards to become the sea into which she sinks.

Yoncheva brings her rich, dark, full-bodied instrument to the role of Dido. She is a bit unsteady at the start but her “Ah! Belinda, I am press’d with torment” is heartfelt and she is strong at the bottom of her register. The vocal line is exposed, and to me her voice is showing signs of fatigue; unfortunately, I notice this throughout the opera. Nevertheless, she has the grand manner I crave in the role and her Liebestod: “When I am laid in earth” is memorable. Only this year, however, we have had Joyce DiDonato set down her vision of the role in a splendid CD. I am not an unreserved fan of this singer and some of her records are perplexing to me but this one, made with Il Pomo d’Oro under Maxim Emelyanychev for Erato is a late gem (review). DiDonato was exactly fifty-five years of age at its making, and she is joined by artists of the calibre of Fatma Said, Beth Taylor and Michael Spyres. It is a very impressive account of the work and joins the very best which I will mention a little later. When Alice Coote sang it at the Proms in 2022 with La Nuova Musica and David Bates she was fifty-four (the record the group made for Pentatone, a few months later, has a different cast). Flagstad sang it at the Mermaid in 1951 aged fifty-six. The BBC transmitted one of the performances and it can be heard still if you care to look for it. When HMV recorded it the following year they changed much of the cast (we lost Maggie Teyte and Edith Coates for instance) but captured a very special portrayal from a legendary soprano. Sarah Connolly, another great exponent of the role for me was forty-five years of age when she sang it both on record for Chandos and on stage at Covent Garden (captured on film thankfully review). Aged only forty-two at the time of these Versailles dates, Yoncheva sounds older than her years, I have to say, and her Dido is not in the same league as these legendary artists above. There are one or two intonation problems, and she also struggles a little with the pronunciation of the text, as, I am afraid, do most of the cast.

Some winning performances in the cast include a charming Belinda from agile French soprano Sarah Charles. Her natural warm vibrato is most attractive. Her Act 2: “Thanks to these lonesome vales” is gorgeous. Attila Varga-Tóth, a tenor takes the role of the Sorceress and Sailor. He is very good, as is countertenor Arnaud Gluck who sings the Spirit. We don’t see Gluck on stage as his part is played by a dancer/acrobat, but his soft velvety contribution is most enchanting. In the role of Aeneas, I am sorry to have to report that Halidou Nombre’s performance is woefully inadequate. His voice placement is all wrong to my ears; he is unsteady in “Behold, upon my bending spear” and elsewhere, and his articulation of the English text is not good. As I am no linguist myself, I feel hypocritical criticizing foreigners singing in my native language, as most of my English countrymen lag far behind other Europeans in this regard, but in this work, one of our national treasures, that matters.

The production at the little gem of a theatre in Versailles played for three nights and this captures the middle performance. The orchestra numbers around twenty, fewer strings than Emelyanychev and Bates used in their recent readings, but Plewniak does include those extra woodwinds. Rousset and Lubek have the constellations come out as the chorus sing the final “With drooping wings you Cupids come”, then Plewniak comes up on stage in the curtain calls, and we see that he is wearing a long black cape, in which garb but in a different production, perhaps, he could have played a good Sorceress himself. The overall running time of the opera is close on 78 minutes; this is because of the extra dances and interludes. Emelyanychev and Bates, using a standard edition come in at 53 and 57 minutes respectively. I enjoyed revisiting Dido and Aeneas in this Paris presentation, but it will not do as a firm recommendation and we still await a Blu-ray/DVD that is wholly satisfying. As far as CDs go, though, we are spoiled for choice. For my kind of Dido, regal, grand and yes, large of voice, I would turn to Jessye Norman as my favourite. Thomas Allen leads a great supporting class, but it is the diva’s show. She was only thirty-nine years of age, and her voice was in marvellous shape; she makes a noble, majestic Queen in this magnificent work.

Philip Harrison

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Additional cast
Sorceress, Sailor: Attila Varga-Tóth
Witches: Pauline Gaillard and Yara Kastil
Spirit: Arnaud Gluck
Second woman: Lili Aymonino

Production details
Mise en scène, costumes, choreography, sets and lighting: Cécile Rousset and Julien Lubek

Technical details
Sound and picture format: Dolby Digital 2.0 – NTSC / All Regions
Sung in English; Subtitles: French, English