Purcell's Dido and Aeneas stands as the greatest operatic achievement of seventeenth-century England. Ellen Harris's comprehensive study examines the work in its historical and cultural context, with detailed coverage of contemporary performance practice and of the work's performance history and critical reception. The author examines the various surviving sources - all of which postdate the first performance by at least 80 years - and discusses their inconsistencies with Nahum Tate's original libretto. A useful reference section includes a critical discography and appendices charting a historical survey of national premieres and of editions.