Purcell wrote Dido and Aeneas in 1689, by most accounts for Josias Priest’s Boarding School of Gentlewomen in the Chelsea section of London. Priest, a dancing master, accomplished choreographer, and occasional collaborator with Purcell, commissioned and prepared the first performance. The opera received its premiere in spring 1689, with the composer probably conducting from the harpsichord. Conductors and scholars continue to question the operas origins partly because the original autograph has not been found. The earliest extant manuscripts are incomplete, with one, the Tenbury manuscript, considered by most researchers to be the only reliable source. Several facts indicate that Purcell most likely conceived this opera with adolescent singers in mind. The piece is different in scale from Purcell’s other dramatic works; it contains a limited number of male leads; and a reference to the Chelsea school is found in what appears to be the libretto from the first performance. Some scholars believe that Purcell abbreviated Nahum Tate’s libretto to fit the premiere performance conditions, a “Speech Day” ceremony (about an hour) in the courtyard of the school. In Purcell’s time, young girls were instructed in singing, dancing, and acting. This explains the operas numerous dance interludes, brief recitatives and arias, the predominantly female cast, and limited instrumentation appropriate for accompanying youthful, amateur performers.
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