Where did Belinda come from in Dido and Aeneas?

Purcell's inspiration came from a play by Nahum Tate called The Enchanted Lovers, itself really just an elaborate retelling of Virgil's story. When Tate adapted his play into the libretto for Purcell's opera, the character of Amarante (based on Virgil's Anna) was recast as Belinda, sister and confidante to Dido. read more

Dido and Aeneas (Z. 626) is an opera in a prologue and three acts, written by the English Baroque composer Henry Purcell with a libretto by Nahum Tate. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain. read more

When Tate adapted his play into the libretto for Purcell's opera, the character of Amarante (based on Virgil's Anna) was recast as Belinda, sister and confidante to Dido. read more

Dido's Lament is the aria "When I am laid in earth" from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Henry Purcell (libretto by Nahum Tate). It is included in many classical music textbooks on account of its exemplary use of the passus duriusculus in the ground bass. read more