So, to continue our look at the recording history of Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas we turn to the 1961 Decca recording with Janet Baker in the title role.  This has won so many awards and featured on so many “best of” lists that it might reasonably be considered to serve as some sort of “gold standard”.  It’s certainly very good but I’m more interested in looking at what it says about the evolution of performance practice of Dido and Aeneas than in adding to the praise for Dame Janet’s performance.

Continue reading →