Dido and Aeneas

ACT I:

DIDO’S COURT

Carthage prepares for the royal wedding between Queen Dido and Trojan prince Aeneas. Though nervous about love weakening her rule, Dido is reassured by Belinda and her court that “Even heroes love.” When Aeneas arrives, initial hesitation gives way to joyous acceptance of his proposal – unaware that spurned suitor King Iarbas watches from the shadows.

ACT II

Scene 1: THE SORCERESS’S CAVE

Iarbas conspires with a vengeful Sorceress to destroy the union. They plot to send a false Mercury (Jove’s messenger) to trick Aeneas into abandoning Dido, while conjuring a storm to disrupt the wedding hunt. The coven vanishes in thunderous laughter.

Scene 2: THE HUNTING GROVE

During a celebratory hunt, the lovers relax in a sun-dappled grove – until thunder cracks the sky. As the court flees, the disguised ‘Mercury’ appears. Aeneas, believing it to be divine will, agonisingly accepts his ‘fate’ to sail for Italy, though he longs to stay.

ACT III

Scene 1: CARTHAGE HARBOUR

Aeneas’s sailors cheer with joy when he arrives at the harbour and orders them to prepare to set sail for Italy. The Sorceress and her minions observe the scene from a distance, pleased with how well their scheme is unfolding. They begin plotting new ways to sabotage Aeneas during his voyage across the Mediterranean.

Scene 2: THE PALACE

Aeneas returns to the palace to confess to Dido his deception, offering to stay. Dido, shattered by his initial willingness to leave, drives him away. As enemy forces descend, she chooses death over capture, singing her iconic lament When I am laid in Earth, also known as Dido’s Lament, before she kills herself. The chorus mourns as rose petals fall like tears.