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Dido and Aeneas: An Opera (Norton Critical Scores)

By: H Purcell
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Co.
ISBN: 0393955281
ISBN-13: 9780393955286
Released: 14 Jan 1987
RRP: £12.95
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Customer Reviews

A comprehensive and useful study guide - By: Pedro el Malo, 23 Nov 2005
The Norton Critical Scores series contain in a single volume both a study-size score of a major musical work & very comprehensive material to enable further study of that work. I used this particular book as an adjunct to a music course in which Henry Purcell’s opera, Dido & Aeneas, was a set work. I found it invaluable. The score itself & the libretto are based on the best available historical material & are clearly printed & well set out. The book provides a detailed synopsis of the opera which sets it within its historical context by discussing the background to the work, including the original source material & details of its first production. There are critical essays & comments from various distinguished sources, & the wide range of topics discussed include the problems caused by missing parts of the original manuscript, interpretation of the opera & the challlenges faced by present day producers of the work. However, the section that many students or music lovers will find most useful is the detailed analysis of the music, the musical techniques used, the key structures used etc. For me, the use of this book whilst studying this particular opera has made a very enjoyable work even more so. Highly recommended.