<P> The opera opens with Dido in her court with her attendants . Belinda is trying to cheer up Dido, but Dido is full of sorrow, saying' Peace and I are strangers grown' . Belinda believes the source of this grief to be the Trojan Aeneas, and suggests that Carthage's troubles could be resolved by a marriage between the two . Dido and Belinda talk for a time--Dido fears that her love will make her a weak monarch, but Belinda and the Second Woman reassure her that "The hero loves as well ." Aeneas enters the court, and is at first received coldly by Dido, but she eventually accepts his proposal of marriage . </P> <P> Scene 1: The cave of the Sorceress </P> <P> The Sorceress / Sorcerer is plotting the destruction of Carthage and its queen, and summons companions to help with evil plans . The plan is to send her "trusted elf" disguised as Mercury, someone to whom Aeneas will surely listen, to tempt him to leave Dido and sail to Italy . This would leave Dido heartbroken, and she would surely die . The chorus join in with terrible laughter, and the Enchantresses decide to conjure up a storm to make Dido and her train leave the grove and return to the palace . When the spell is prepared, the witches vanish in a thunderclap . </P> <P> Scene 2: A grove during the middle of a hunt </P>

Who conspired to break up dido and aeneas