Dido and Aeneas

Specialists in the French and Italian repertoire, the members of Le Poème Harmonique turn this time to one of the great masterpieces of English opera, Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. The work, which drew on the traditions of the theatre and of the masque - an entertainment made up of song, dance, instrumental music, and spectacular effects created by stage machinery - allowed the English composer to achieve his dramatic ideal. To celebrate this little gem, the only one of its kind in Purcell's oeuvre, Vincent Dumestre has called on a number of outstanding singers - Isabelle Druet, for example, as Dido, to name but one!