Dido and Aeneas (/ˈdaɪdoʊ/ "Dy-doh and eh-Nee-us") is a three-act English opera. The story and words were written by Nahum Tate. The music was written by Henry Purcell. The opera was probably written about 1684-1685. Dido is Purcell's only true opera. It was possibly modeled on John Blow's Venus and Adonis. Blow's piece was written and staged about the same time. Marc-Antoine Charpentier's little French operas may also have served as models. French music was appreciated at the English court.
The opera was intended for performance at the court. The death of Charles II may have caused it to be postponed however. The first performance occurred in a Chelsea girls' school run by Josias Priest (the dancing master at court) in 1689. Tragedy and comedy are deftly combined in Dido. The lovers' scenes are tense with emotion. The witches' scenes are filled with comical cackling and mischief-making.
The story of the opera is taken from Virgil's Aeneid. It tells of the Trojan Aeneas' tragic love for Dido, the Queen of Carthage. The opera manuscript has been lost or destroyed. Research and performance rely on earliest printed copies. Some music is believed missing from these early copies. That music is composed afresh by modern composers in Purcell's style. Sometimes music Purcell composed about 1685 is inserted into the score to make up for the lack of the original music. Dido and Aeneas is Purcell's best known work.