Graupner's Dido and Aeneas

Dido's tragic end

Similar to earlier works by Cavalli and Purcell, and later Berlioz, the story in Christoph Graupner's composition is based on the unfortunate love between the Trojan hero Aeneas and Queen Dido, who reigns over Carthage. The tragic ending, with Dido's suicide, was unusual. All her arias are not coincidentally in a minor key. Graupner's version is a German-language opera, but it is infused with sixteen virtuoso Italian arias, duets, and ensembles, something not uncommon in his time.

Dutch premiere with Andrea Marcon

Composer Graupner was hired as a harpsichordist at the Theater am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg in 1705, immediately exposing him to the thriving opera culture of the city, led by Keiser and Händel. Andrea Marcon, a regular guest in the ZaterdagMatinee, conducts this Dutch premiere.