Purcell’s Dido and Æneas forms the centrepiece of the concert, considered to be one of the earliest fully-sung operatic works in English. Dating from the mid to late–1680s, the work was probably first performed in a girls’ school in Chelsea, but soon became a staple in the London theatres where productions drawn from Classical mythology enjoyed great popularity, and still today is regarded as one of Purcell’s most-loved pieces.

The DCS concert will also include probably the first performance in modern times of Haste Charon, Haste, composed around 1731, by the English composer Charles King. For more information please contact doverchoralsociety@hotmail.com.