Henry Purcell : Dido & Aeneas

   in Opera Now (Nov, 2014)
This re-issue of the 1994 recording is certainly idiosyncratic but there is much to like, starting with the Taverner Players (led by Andrew Manze) who locate a strain of sad nostalgia right from the beginning and hold onto it in an elegant, expressive performance. You couldn’t call it madly dramatic; conductor Andrew Parrott is unhurried to the point of stasis at times, and dances become earthbound. The Taverner Choir is tight and accurate while veering a bit close to the cathedral for my taste (they vim things up for witches and sailors). The versatile American soprano Emily Van Evera is Dido – light but not short of emotion, she has a …