Purcell: Dido and Aeneas (2008)

This 1951 recording of Dido and Aeneas brings together two superstars not usually associated with this repertoire: Kirsten Flagstad and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf. At the very least, it's an intriguing document. Geraint Jones conducts the Mermaid Singers and Orchestra in a reading that predates the research into authentic performance practice that emerged in the late twentieth century and sounds ponderous and stolid in comparison to the lean performances that have since become standard. Not least noticeable is the operatic ... Read More

This 1951 recording of Dido and Aeneas brings together two superstars not usually associated with this repertoire: Kirsten Flagstad and Elizabeth Schwartzkopf. At the very least, it's an intriguing document. Geraint Jones conducts the Mermaid Singers and Orchestra in a reading that predates the research into authentic performance practice that emerged in the late twentieth century and sounds ponderous and stolid in comparison to the lean performances that have since become standard. Not least noticeable is the operatic weightiness of Flagstad's and Schwartzkopf's voices, and their generous use of vibrato, which to modern ears sounds more suited to Romantic repertoire and conspires against making the text easily comprehensible. Flagstad's Dido is deeply expressive, and her full tone is strikingly rich, particularly in her moving Lament, but she sounds somewhat matronly and there is some strain at the top. Schwartzkopf takes three roles, Belinda, the Second Woman, and the deceptive Spirit in the form of... Read Less