Purcell: Dido and Aeneas

Rene Jacobs is one of the best conductors of the historically informed performance school, and he leads a vibrant performance of Purcell's masterpiece, one of the few Baroque operas to enjoy popularity in our time. The opera requires a top-level Dido, and Lynne Dawson is generally satisfying in the role, overcoming a tentative Act I to deliver a moving lament in the last act. Competition is stiff, though, ranging from Janet Baker's classic Dido to more recent superb assumptions of the role by Veronique Gens and Lorraine Hunt. Though Dawson doesn't quite equal them, the performance as a whole is a match for any in the catalogue, avoiding idiosyncrasies and casting deficiencies found elsewhere. For example, Jacobs's Sorceress, Susan Bickley, depicts a chillingly evil creature without excessive campiness. Rosemary Joshua is a dulcet-voiced Belinda and Gerald Finley offers a manly, well-sung Aeneas. All in all, this is a highly recommendable version of an opera that's often hard to get right on recordings. --Dan Davis