Dido and Aeneas Z. 626 is an opera in three acts by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell, with the libretto by Nahum Tate recounting the fourth book of Virgil's The Aeneid. Written by 1688, it is believed to be the one of the earliest English-language operas (the other candidate is John Blow's Venus and Adonis which some rate more to be a masque or semi-opera).
The opera contains examples of:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Aeneas changes his mind and declares he will stay with Dido in defiance of what he erroneously thinks is the Gods' command. Unfortunately, Dido rejects him for having had thoughts of leaving her at all, and forces him to leave.
- Adaptational Villainy: In the source material, the command for Aeneas to leave Carthage and sail to Italy genuinely came from Mercury at Jupiter's behest. In this version, it is the evil Sorceress' minion pretending to be Mercury.
- The Bad Guy Wins: The Sorceress' evil plan to destroy Dido succeeds without a hitch.
- Canon Foreigner: The Sorceress and her followers were not in the source material.
- Death by Adaptation: Possibly. The Sorceress declares her intention, after ruining Dido, to "storm her lover on the ocean", implying that she will arrange for Aeneas and his ships to be destroyed in a tempest while they are at sea. In the source material, Aeneas safely reaches shore to found Rome, as decreed by the Gods.
- For the Evulz: The Sorceress' main motivation, possibly combined with Green-Eyed Monster, if her line about hating "all who live in state" is anything to go by. She and her minions have a song about how "harm's (their) delight and mischief all (their) skill".
- Greek Chorus: The choir acts as one, sometimes echoing and re-enforcing the words of the other characters, and sometimes commenting on what is occurring. Towards the end of the opera, they sadly reflect on Dido's decision to reject and dismiss Aeneas ("Great minds against themselves conspire") and finally call on the Cupids to honour and watch over Dido in her death ("With drooping wings you Cupids come")
- His Own Worst Enemy: Dido rejecting Aeneas for having had thoughts of leaving her, despite the fact that a) he has offered to stay with her in defiance of the "Gods" and that b) she knows she must die if he leaves. Lampshaded by the immediately following chorus:Chorus: Great minds against themselves conspire, and shun the cure they most desire.
- Minor Flaw, Major Breakup: Dido rejects Aeneas, sends him away, and commits suicide because he had thoughts of abandoning her after being tricked into believing the Gods had commanded him to do so (and even then, he was ready to defy the command and stay with her.)
- Star-Crossed Lovers: Dido and Aeneas are separated, but in this version, it is due to the machinations of the evil Sorceress, not due to the command of the Gods.
- Unwitting Pawn: Aeneas is one for the Sorceress' evil plan to destroy Dido.
