Dido and Aeneas is Purcell’s only true opera, and his only all-sung dramatic work. The dates of the composition and first performance of the opera are uncertain, but it was certainly composed no later than July 1688. The story is based on Book IV of Virgil’s Aeneid and recounts the love of Dido, Queen of Carthage, for the Trojan hero Aeneas and her despair when he abandons her. It features the famous aria ‘When I am laid in earth’, popularly known as 'Dido's Lament'. The title roles will be sung by Soprano Rowena Ashby and Baritone Orlando Barton Hodges.