When I Am Laid In Earth

In the aftermath of the destruction of Troy, Aeneas escapes across the Mediterranean to Carthage, the great Phoenician city built around the eighth century BC, and ruled by Dido as its queen. He and Dido fall in love.

But Aeneas is destined to be the founder of the city of Rome and is obliged to travel onwards; however, Dido is unable to face life without him.

Purcell gives Dido this lament - an intimate and conclusive disclosure - as she reveals to her sister, the handmaiden Belinda, her approaching death.