PURCELL Dido and Aeneas (Emelyanychev)
Purcell: Dido & Aeneas Joyce DiDonato, Michael Spyres, Fatma Said Il Pomo d’Oro / Maxim Emelyanychev Joyce DiDonato again makes a magical pairing with Michael Spyers as in John Nelson’s 2017 recording of Berlioz’s Ley Toyens, the famous Didon and Énée are now Dido & Aeneas! It’s an exciting partnership and one with which Il Pomo d’Oro and Maxim Emelyanychev are perfectly in tune, the results carry a ‘thrillingly theatrical’ air similar to David Bates and La Nuove Musiche (Awards issue 2023) as it leans into high- and low-brow contrasts to spin a dramatically convincing arc. Joyce DiDonato mines the character development in Dido, exploring all her emotions with relish: from angry Queen of Carthage to enraged, abandoned and finally resigned lover, she is gipping throughout. There’s even a hint of rage in her line about crocodile tears that I find enormously moving, thus it ever was! In stark contrast, Michael Spyres, surely one of our most charismatic current singers, plays Aenea...
