Aeneas and Dido Essay

Samantha Lugo

Dido and Aeneas

May 14, 2019

Opera Essay

            Written by Henry Purcell, arose one of his major theatrical works, known as Dido and Aeneas. This performance was his first fully-sung opera and based its foundation on the Book IV of Virgil’s, Aeneid. It recounts a love affair filled with lust, love, anger, disparity, and betrayal between the Queen of Carthage, Dido, and the Trojan hero, Aeneas. The opera concludes with a scene of sorrow as Dido is comforted by her sister, Belinda, due to rejecting Aeneas as he once thought about leaving her. She sings her last words as “death must come when he is gone,” displaying her feelings of despair without him as she walks to her own death. Her court then proceeds to deliver her to her tomb, made of sticks, hay, and leaves, while setting it on fire. In the very last moment, the performance shows the pink petals that were wished to appear, by cupid, to represent her pure heart.

            When looking through a mise en scene perspective, it can be easily seen that immense effort was put forth throughout the entire performance. It showed great lengths of intricacy, some through the use of technology, within the lighting, sceneries, props and costumes, creating the most multi-layered visual design to make this performance come to life. Camera work is also another component included within a performance’s mise en scene, and with this piece, directors chose to use a different approach than the ordinary live opera; as being presented in the form of a movie, perhaps. It was one that was not displayed in front of the live audience, which allowed the directors to move the storyline along more smoothly and create scenery that fulfilled the emotions behind the story, while also giving the audience an entirely new experience from the everyday opera's. I think the audience reacted in an innovative and impressed way, as this presentation of an opera was out of the ordinary and something new to experience as an opera lover.

            To begin, the lighting presented throughout the piece seemed mostly to have characteristics of low-key lighting, where there were some light and dark areas within the frame. Most often, in the scenes composing of Dido’s castle, the outside night time scene, and the Sorcerer’s lair, they all consist of low-key lighting. The one difference between these sceneries would be the color palette of the lighting presented. In Dido’s castle, the lighting consists of warmer tones of orange, tan, yellow, and browns; presenting a sense of comfort. On the other hand, the outside scene had more of a dramatic effect with brighter blue tones to give the person viewing a more atmospheric feeling. In the Sorcerer’s lair, the blue color tone continues, with little warm tones to take part. To continue, where the scene presents Dido and Aeneas married lying down, the lighting changes to high-key lighting where there are barely any shadows so everything and everyone within the scene are well lit and boldly existent.

            To continue, the musical component, sceneries, and costumes also add a lot of background to the storyline focusing on the overall feeling of the renaissance. Starting off with strictly instrumental music, in happier scenes, the music is happy, whereas towards the end when Dido is in distress, the music is saddened, mellow, and slower. In the scene where Aeneas and his men run with the dogs, the music is upbeat and fast, representing the pace of the hunt. The sceneries and costumes also contribute to the overall message of this story by putting the viewer in the time period in which this story portrays to take place. The female’s costumes were long, fully covered dresses with abstract patterns from the renaissance period. The women’s hair for the most part was down, while Dido had pearls going throughout, exemplifying her royalty. As for the men, they had brown knee-high boots, and long cloaks with fur pieces over their shoulders. In some scenes, they wore shiny-gold armored chest pieces and helmets, with sleeveless shirts, giving off masculinity. The sceneries also offered a lot of intricate aspects. In the outside scene, they used fog to demonstrate a mystical feeling, ire feeling. In the castle scenes, the walls contained pictures and long curtains with brick patterned walls. Overall, the sense of a royal castle was accurately depicted as an individual would imagine one to look like in this time. The Sorcerer’s lair was creepy and dungeon-like which contributed to the Sorcerer’s character. It was dark and rusty, where I imagined it to be cold if I were there based on the sceneries aspects. The outside scene before the storm arrives, gives a vibe of relaxation. The tub and leaves add to this relaxation, and further add to the storm that later arrives by wind being present and the props appearing disheveled to show how badly the storm had hit.

            If I were to conduct this film into a video game, I would base it on an adventure, goal-seeking aspect. In this game, Dido’s location would be a mystery and the players would have to work their way to find her, through being the character of Aeneas. Aeneas would have to complete multiple levels, each consisting of tasks within in order to move up to finding her location. Within each level, objects can be found in order to find her more quickly, for instance, a dog would be hidden and after finding and obtaining the dog, it could then use its senses to lead Aeneas to her location more quickly. As the levels increase, the tasks become harder to complete as Aeneas is getting closer therefore he needs to prove his worthiness to Dido. Throughout the levels, the Sorcerer will arrive throwing curveballs at Aeneas to keep him from reaching Dido, and Aeneas will need to be careful as he could run into the Sorcerer at any moment. If the Sorcerer and Aeneas cross paths, Aeneas will lose the game, and Dido will die. When the Sorcerer becomes present nearby, dramatic music will play to alert the player. The main goal is to reach Dido and live happily ever after before crossing paths with the Sorcerer and preventing Dido’s death.