DIDO AND AENEAS

By Henry Purcell

The first great opera in English--and it packs an emotional wallop
in a space of less than an hour.

VIDEO: No Listing

AUDIO: A) LONDON: Janet Baker, Patricia Clark, Monica Sinclair, Raimund Herincx, Anthony Lewis conducting; English Chamber Orchestra; London (distributed by PolyGram) 425 720-2; Finally, all opera fans can be grateful for this recent CD reissue of Janet Baker's earlier landmark Dido (1961); it remains the most generally satisfying performance available. [G.R.]

B) HARMONIA MUNDI: Lorraine Hunt, Lisa Saffer, M. Dean, Nicholas McGegan conducting; Philharmonia Baroque; Harmonia Mundi France HMU 907110; The new mezzo-soprano Lorraine Hunt is the kind of rare, vivid artist who projects an individual face and an entire stage setting purely through her vocal colors. Let's hope she's available in this role on video soon. The reason this is relegated to second place is McGegan's less engaged conducting compared to Lewis on A. This Hunt/McGegan recording is still a formidable emotional experience. [G.R]

C) PHILIPS: Jessye Norman, Marie McLaughlin, Thomas Allen, Raymond Leppard conducting; stereo