OVERTURE (to the Prologue)
THE PROLOGUE
A: Phoebus rises in the chariot, over the sea, the Nereids out of the sea.
B: PHOEBUS
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From Aurora's spicy bed Phoebus rears his sacred head, His coursers advancing, Curvetting and prancing. |
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Phoebus strives in vain to tame 'em, With ambrosia fed too high; |
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Phoebus ought not now to blame 'em, Wild and eager to survey The fairest pageant of the sea. |
C: PHOEBUS
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Tritons and Nereids come pay your devotion, To the new rising star of the ocean. |
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Tritons and Nereids come pay your devotion, To the new rising star of the ocean. |
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Ye Tritons and Nereids come pay your devotion To the new rising star of the ocean. |
D: 1st NEREID
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Look down, ye orbs, and see A new Divinity. |
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Whose lustre does outshine Your fainter beams, And half eclipses mine. Give Phoebus leave to prophesy; Phoebus all events can see: Ten thousand harms, From such prevailing charms, To Gods and men must instantly ensue! |
E: CHORUS
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And if the Deities above Are victims of the pow'rs of Love, What must wretched mortals do? |
F: VENUS
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Fear not, Phoebus, fear not me, A harmless Deity: These are all my guards ye view. What can these blind archers do? |
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Blind they are, but strike the heart, But strike the heart. |
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What Phoebus says is always true; They wound indeed, but 't is a pleasing smart. |
G: PHOEBUS
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Earth and skies address their duty To the Sov'reign Queen of Beauty. All resigning, None repining At her undisputed sway. Earth and skies address their duty To the Sov'reign Queen of Beauty. |
H: CHORUS
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To Phoebus and Venus our homage we'll pay, Her charms bless the night, as his beams bless the day. |
I: Nereids' Dance
Exit (Nereids and Tritons)
Scene: The Grove
J: The Spring enters with her Nymphs (and Swains)
CHORUS
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See the Spring in all her glory Welcomes Venus to the shore. |
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Smiling hours are now before ye, Hours that may return no more. |
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See the Spring in all her glory Welcomes Venus to the shore. |
K: Exit Phoebus, Venus
L: SPRING
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Our youth and form declare For what we were design'd; 'T was Nature made us fair, And you must make us kind. He that fails of addressing, 'T is but just he should fail of possessing. |
M: Dance of Spring and Nymphs
N: Enter Country Shepherds and Shepherdesses
1st and 2nd SHEPHERDESS
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Jolly shepherds, come away; Celebrate this genial day, And take the friendly hours you vow'd to pay, Now make trial, Take no denial, And carry your game, now carry your game, or else for e'er give o'er. |
O: Shepherds' and Shepherdesses' Dance
P: CHORUS
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Let us love and happy live, Possess those smiling hours The more auspicious pow'ers And gentler planets give. Prepare those soft returns to meet, That make Love's torments sweet. |
Q: Nymphs' Dance
R: Dialogue
HE
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Tell me prithee Dolly, And leave thy melancholy, Why on the plains the Nymphs and swains This morning are so jolly? |
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By Zephyr's gentle blowing, And Venus' graces flowing, The sun has been to court our Queen, And tired the Spring with wooing. |
| The sun does gild our bow'rs, |
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The Spring does yield us flow'rs, She sends the vine, |
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He makes the wine To charm our happy hours. |
| She gives the flocks their feeding, |
| He makes 'em fit for breeding, |
| She decks the plain, |
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He fills the grain And makes it worth the weeding. |
S: CHORUS
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But the jolly nymph Thetis, that long his love sought, Has fluster'd him now with a long morning's draught; Let's go and divert him, Whilst he is mellow, You know in his cups he's a hotheaded fellow. |
End of the Prologue: 'Dido and Aeneas' follows.
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1: OVERTURE
ACT I
Scene: The Palace
Enter Dido, Belinda and attendants
2: BELINDA
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Shake the cloud from off your brow, Fate your wishes does allow; Empire growing, Pleasures flowing, Fortune smiles and so should you. Shake the cloud from off your brow. |
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Banish sorrow, banish care, Grief should ne'er approach the fair. |
3: DIDO
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Ah! Belinda, I am press'd With torment not to be confess'd, Peace and I are strangers grown. I languish till my grief is known, Yet would not have it guess'd. Peace and I are strangers grown. |
4: BELINDA
| Grief increases by concealing, |
| Mine admits of no revealing. |
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Then let me speak; the Trojan guest Into your tender thoughts has press'd. The greatest blessing Fate can give, Our Carthage to secure and Troy revive. |
5: CHORUS
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When monarchs unite, how happy their state; They triumph at once o'er their foes and their fate. |
6: DIDO
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Whence could so much virtue spring? What storms, What battles did he sing? Anchises' valour mix'd with Venus' charms, How soft in peace, and yet how fierce in arms! |
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A tale so strong and full of woe Might melt the rocks, as well as you. |
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What stubborn heart unmov'd could see Such distress, such piety? |
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Mine with storms of care oppress'd Is taught to pity the distress'd; Mean wretches' grief can touch, So soft, so sensible my breast, But ah! I fear, I pity his too much. |
7: BELINDA and 2nd WOMAN [Repeated by Chorus]
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Fear no danger to ensue, The hero loves as well as you. Ever gentle, ever smiling, And the cares of life beguiling, Fear no danger to ensue, The hero loves as well as you. Cupid strew your paths with flowers Gather'd from Elysian bowers. Fear no danger to ensue, The hero loves as well as you. |
7a: Dance This Chorus. The Baske
Aeneas enters with his train8: BELINDA
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See, your royal guest appears; How godlike is the form he bears! |
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When, royal fair, shall I be bless'd, With cares of love and state distress'd? |
| Fate forbids what you pursue. |
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Aeneas has no fate but you! Let Dido smile and I'll defy The feeble stroke of Destiny. |
9: CHORUS
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Cupid only throws the dart That's dreadful to a warrior's heart, And she that wounds can only cure the smart. |
10: AENEAS
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If not for mine, for empire's sake, Some pity on your lover take; Ah! make not in a hopeless fire A hero fall, and Troy once more expire. |
11: BELINDA
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Pursue thy conquest, Love; her eyes Confess the flame her tongue denies. Pursue thy conquest, Love. |
11a: A Dance. Guitars Chacony
12: CHORUS
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To the hills and the vales, to the rocks and the mountains, To the musical groves and the cool shady fountains. Let the triumphs of love and of beauty be shown. Go revel, ye Cupids, the day is your own. |
13: The Triumphing Dance
ACT II
Scene I: The Cave
Enter Sorceress
14: Prelude For The Witches
SORCERESS
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Wayward sisters, you that fright The lonely traveller by night, Who, like dismal ravens crying. Beat the windows of the dying, Appear at my call, and share in the fame Of a mischief shall make all Carthage flame. Appear! |
| Say, Beldame, say what's thy will? |
15: CHORUS
| Harm's our delight and mischief all our skill. |
16: SORCERESS
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The Queen of Carthage, whom we hate, As we do all in prosp'rous state, Ere sunset, shall most wretched prove, Depriv'd of fame, of life and love! |
17: CHORUS
| Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho. |
18: 1st and 2nd WITCH
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Ruin'd ere the set of sun? Tell us, how shall this be done? |
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The Trojan Prince, you know, is bound By Fate to seek Italian ground; The Queen and he are now in chase. |
| Hark! The cry comes on apace. |
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But, when they've done, my trusty elf, In form of Mercury himself, As sent from Jove shall chide his stay, And charge him sail tonight with all his fleet away. |
19: CHORUS
| Ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho ho. |
20: 1st and 2nd WITCH
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But ere we this perform, We'll conjure for a storm, To mar their hunting sport, And drive 'em back to court. |
21: CHORUS
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In our deep vaulted cell, the charm we'll prepare, Too dreadful a practice for this open air. |
22: Echo Dance of Furies
Thunder and lightning, horrid music.
The Furies sink down in the cave, the rest fly up.
Scene II: The Grove
Enter Aeneas, Dido, Belinda, and their train
23: Ritornelle
24: BELINDA [Repeated by Chorus]
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Thanks to these lonesome vales, These desert hills and dales, So fair the game, so rich the sport, Diana's self might to these woods resort. |
24a: Guitar Ground a Dance
25: 2nd WOMAN
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Oft she visits this lone mountain, Oft she bathes her in this fountain, Here Actæon met his fate, Pursued by his own hounds; And after mortal wounds Discover'd too late. |
26: AENEAS
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Behold, upon my bending spear A monster's head stands bleeding, With tushes far exceeding Those did Venus' huntsman tear! |
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The skies are clouded: hark! how thunder Rends the mountain oaks asunder! |
27: BELINDA [Repeated by Chorus]
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Haste, haste to town! this open field No shelter from the storm can yield; Haste, haste to town! |
28:The Spirit of the Sorceress descends to Aeneas in the likeness of Mercury
SPIRIT
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Stay, Prince, and hear great Jove's command: He summons thee this night away. |
| Tonight? |
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Tonight thou must forsake this land; The angry god will brook no longer stay. Jove commands thee, waste no more In Love's delights, those precious hours, Allow'd by th' almighty powers To gain th' Hesperian shore And ruin'd Troy restore. |
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Jove's commands shall be obey'd: Tonight our anchors shall be weigh'd. |
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But ah! what language can I try, My injur'd Queen to pacify? No sooner she resigns her heart, But from her arms I'm forc'd to part. How can so hard a fate be took? One night enjoy'd, the next forsook. Yours be the blame, ye gods! for I Obey your will, but with more ease could die. |
28a: The SORCERESS and her Witches (CHORUS)
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Then since our charms have sped, A merry dance shall now be led By the nymphs of Carthage thus to please us: They shall dance to ease us: Their dance shall make the spheres to wonder, Rending those fair groves asunder! |
28b: The Groves' Dance
ACT III
Scene: The Ships
29: Prelude
Enter Sailors
1st SAILOR [Repeated by Chorus]
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Come away, fellow sailors, your anchors be weighing. Time and tide will admit no delaying; Take a boozy short leave of your nymphs on the shore, And silence their mourning With vows of returning But never intending to visit them more. |
30: The Sailors' Dance
Enter Sorceress and Witches
31: SORCERESS
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See the flags and streamers curling, Anchors weighing, sails unfurling. |
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Phoebe's pale deluding beams Gilding o'er deceitful streams. |
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Our plot has took, The Queen's forsook! |
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Elissa's ruin'd! ho ho! Our plot has took, The Queen's forsook! ho ho ho ho! |
32: SORCERESS
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Our next motion Must be to storm her lover on the ocean. From the ruin of others our pleasures we borrow; Elissa bleeds tonight, and Carthage flames tomorrow. |
33: CHORUS
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Destruction's our delight, Delight our greatest sorrow; Elissa dies tonight, And Carthage flames tomorrow. Ho ho ho ho! Elissa dies tonight, And Carthage flames tomorrow. |
34: The Witches' Dance
Jack o' Lantern leads the Sailors out of their way among the Witches
Scene: The Palace
Enter Dido, Belinda and woman
35: DIDO
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Your counsel all is urg'd in vain, To earth and heav'n I will complain; To earth and heav'n why do I call? Earth and heav'n conspire my fall. To Fate I sue, of other means bereft, The only refuge for the wretched left. |
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See, Madam, see where the Prince appears! Such sorrow in his look he bears As would convince you still he's true. |
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What shall lost Aeneas do? How, royal fair, shall I impart The god's decree, and tell you we must part? |
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Thus on the fatal Banks of Nile Weeps the deceitful crocodile; Thus hypocrites, that murder act, Make heaven and gods the authors of the fact. |
| By all that's good... |
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By all that's good, no more! All that's good you have forswore. To your promis'd empire fly, And let forsaken Dido die. |
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In spite of Jove's command, I'll stay, Offend the gods, and Love obey. |
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No, faithless man, thy course pursue; I'm now resolv'd as well as you. No repentance shall reclaim The injur'd Dido's slighted flame; For 't is enough, whate'er you now decree, That you had once a thought of leaving me. |
| Let Jove say what he please, I'll stay! |
| Away, away! No, no, away! |
| No, no, I'll stay, and Love obey! |
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To Death I'll fly if longer you delay. Away, away! |
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But Death, alas! I cannot shun; Death must come when he is gone. |
36: CHORUS
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Great minds against themselves conspire, And shun the cure they most desire. |
37: DIDO
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Thy hand, Belinda; darkness shades me, On thy bosom let me rest; More I would, but Death invades me; Death is now a welcome guest. |
38: DIDO
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When I am laid in earth, may my wrongs create No trouble in thy breast, Remember me! but ah! forget my fate. |
39: Cupids appear in the clouds o're her tomb
CHORUS
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With drooping wings ye Cupids come, And scatter roses on her tomb, Soft and gentle as her heart; Keep here your watch, and never part. |
39a: Cupids Dance
40: THE EPILOGUE By T. D'Urfey. (Spoken by Lady Dorothy Burk)
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All that we know the angels do above, I've read, is that they sing and that they love, The vocal part we have tonight perform'd And if by Love our hearts not yet are warm'd Great Providence has still more bounteous been To save us from those grand deceivers, men. Here blest with innocence, and peace of mind, Not only bred to virtue, but inclin'd; We flourish, and defy Al human kind. Art's curious garden thus we learn to know, And here secure from nipping blasts we grow, Let the vain fop range o'er yon vile lewd town, Learn play-house wit, and vow 'tis all his own; Let him cock, huff, strut, ogle, lie, and swear, How he's admir'd by such and such a player; All's one to us, his charms have here no power, Our hearts have just the temper as before; Besides, to shew we live with strictest rules, Our nunnery-door is charm'd to shut out fools; No love-toy here can pass to private view, Nor China orange cramm'd with billet doux, Rome may allow strange tricks to please her sons, But we are Protestants and English nuns; Like nimble fawns, and birds that bless the spring Unscarr'd by turning times we dance and sing; We hope to please, but if some critic here Fond of his wit, designs to be severe, Let not his patience be worn out too soon; In a few years we shall be all in tune. |