Dido's Lament is a Baroque aria from Purcell's opera "Dido and Aeneas", famous for its expressive ground bass and emotional depth as Dido's farewell before death.
Baroque opera based on Virgil's Aeneid, featuring Dido's tragic love for Aeneas. Contains the famous aria "When I am laid in earth" with a ground bass that became emblematic of Baroque musical expression.
Dido and Aeneas is a seminal Baroque opera depicting the tragic love story between the Carthaginian queen Dido and the Trojan hero Aeneas. Composed by Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate, it is celebrated for its expressive recitatives, intricate choruses, and emotionally powerful arias. Lasting about an hour, it remains Purcell's only true opera and a cornerstone of English operatic repertoire.
Dido's Lament from Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas is one of the most celebrated arias in classical music, known for its expressive grief and the famous descending chromatic ground bass that symbolizes Dido's impending death.
