‘Dido and Aeneas’ at the Met Museum

Handel and Haydn Society returns to New York

The Handel and Haydn Society performs Monteverdi's "Vespers" at the Temple of Dendur at the Metropolitan Museum in 2017. Stephanie Berger

Henry Purcell’s Baroque masterpiece “Dido and Aeneas” is one of the most famous English operas. The last aria, “Dido’s Lament,” is a showstopper.

The heartbreak and outpouring of emotion as the Queen of Carthage parts with Aeneas, who must continue on toward Rome, is not just incredibly moving, but memorable.