title: Didone (opera)
text: # Didone (opera)
  
  Didone is an opera by Francesco Cavalli, set to a libretto by Giovanni Francesco Busenello (later librettist for Claudio Monteverdi). The opera was first performed at Venice's Teatro San Cassiano during 1640.
  
  The plot is based on Virgil's Aeneid (Book 4 in particular), though Busenello, in his second libretto for Cavalli, replaces Dido's tragic suicide of Virgil with a happy ending in which Dido marries Iarbas, King of the Getuli, who saves Dido from herself after Aeneas abandons her. The action is divided into a prologue and 3 acts.
  
  ## Roles
  
  | Role | Voice type |
  | - | - |
  | Enea | tenor |
  | Didone | soprano |
  | Iarbas | contralto |
  | Cassandra | soprano |
  | Anchise | tenor |
  | Ascanio | soprano |
  | Hecuba | contralto |
  | Creusa | soprano |
  | Anna | soprano |
  | Mercurio | contralto |
  | Sicheo | tenor |
  | Pirro | tenor |
  | Corebo | contralto |
  | Sinon Greco | bass |
  | Ambasciatore Ilionèo | contralto |
  | Acate | tenor |
  | Giove | bass |
  | Giunone | soprano |
  | Iride | soprano |
  | Venere | soprano |
  | Amore | soprano |
  | Nettuno | bass |
  | Eolo | tenor |
  | Fortuna | soprano |
  | Three court ladies | sopranos |
  
  ## Recordings
  
  * Live Video recording on DVD - 2006 - Teatro Malibran, Venice - Fabio Biondi, conductor - Orchestra Europa Galante Cast: Claron McFadden, Magnus Staveland, Jordi Domènech, Manuela Custer, Marina De Liso, Donatella Lombardi - Dynamic cat. 33537
  