The mythical personas of Dido and Aeneas, who became the protagonists of the legendary opera of the same name

The mythical heroes of Dido and Aeneas stirred the imagination of not only the ancient Greeks and Romans, but also people of later eras. The love story, sung by Homer and Virgil, was repeatedly played out and reinterpreted by the ancient tragedies. In it, historians have seen the encrypted code of the future Punic Wars. Dante Alighieri used the story of Aeneas and Dido for his pious edification in The Divine Comedy. But glorified the mythical couple is still the English baroque composer Henry Purcell. Using Virgil's "Aeneid", Naum Tate wrote a libretto. Thus, in the second half of the 17th century a remarkable opera appeared in three acts - Dido and Aeneas. Who are Dido and Aeneas? Gods? No. But not historical characters. These heroes came out of myth and became a legend.

History of Aeneas

The great poet of antiquity, Homer, who lived in the eighth century BC, in his many-sided epic work "The Iliad" brought among others the image of Aeneas. This son of the goddess of beauty Aphrodite and the earthly king of the darshans Anhis left the burning Troy and sailed with his men over the sea for twenty ships. The twentieth book of the Iliad describes his salvation. He saved from the ruined city not only his wife, Crispus and Yul's son, but also an old father, carrying it on his back. Hellenes, respecting this act, missed it. However, other ancient authors give different versions of the story of Aeneas. Leskh describes how the mythical hero was captured by Neoptolem. Arctin believes that Aeneas left Troy before it was taken. Gellanik, Lutatsi Daphnis and Menecrat Xanthii believed that it was he who surrendered the city to the Achaeans. Whatever it was, the fall of Troy served as the reason for the long wanderings of the tribe of dardans. The storm at sea drove the ships to the shores of Carthage. Thus, and met the local queen Dido and Aeneas. Myth tells that they fell in love. But Aeneas, obedient to the will of the gods, remained true to his duty. He had to establish the kingdom of the Latins. In order not to torment himself and his beloved long separation, he left Carthage secretly. Dido, having learned about the flight of Aeneas, ordered to light a funeral pyre. Then she threw the things of her lover there and flung herself into the fire.

Version of Virgil

For Homer, Dido and Aeneas are second-rate heroes. Ancient Roman poet Virgil devotes more attention to mythical heroes and their love story. The navigator, wrapped in a veil of fog, in which his mother, the goddess Venus, clothed, enters Carthage. He sees the beautiful queen and the fact that she is friendly to the members of his team. Then he is her. At the feast Cupid, taking the form of the son of Aeneas, Yulia, presses against Dido and shoots her arrow straight at the heart. From this the Queen madly falls in love with the Trojan hero. But their happiness did not last long. A year later the gods sent Mercury to remind Aeneas of his duty - to go to Italy and establish a new kingdom. The fate, which, according to ancient concepts, can not be changed, has predetermined Aeneas to marry Lavinia, daughter of Latina. In order not to hear the complaints of Dido, Aeneas leaves her when she was asleep. Waking up, the queen in desperation rushes into a burning bonfire. Seeing the black smoke rising above the horizon, Aeneas understands its cause, and his heart yearns. But he follows his destiny.

Heroes do not die

A touching love story with a tragic end was not forgotten with the fall of the Roman Empire. Ovid Nason composed "The Letter of Dido to Aeneas" (Heroes VII). This mythical couple became the main characters in the Pseudo-Euripides tragedy "Res". Dido and Aeneas are mentioned in a number of medieval poetic works. And if the Romans believed with full certainty as their common ancestor to the renowned navigator, the Spaniards regard their founder as the Queen of Carthage. So, at least, it is indicated in the chronicle of 1282 by King Alfonso X "Estoria de Espanna".

Political rethinking

In 1678, the famous British playwright Naum Tate wrote the play Brutus of Alba, or Enchanted Lovers, which later became the basis for the opera by G. Purcell "Dido and Aeneas". The libretto completely reinterprets the love story and makes of it an allegory of political events of the era of the English King James II. It is his author who deduces in the image of Aeneas. Didon, according to Tate, is the British people. The author of the play introduces new characters that are not found in Virgil. This is the Witch and her assistants are witches. Below them, Tate means the Pope and the Catholic Church. These evil beings take on the appearance of Mercury and instruct the king to betray their people.

"Dido and Aeneas": opera Purcell

This work is considered one of the best works of the Baroque composer. The original score was not preserved, and at the beginning of the eighteenth century, it underwent many changes (the music of the prologue, several dances and the end of the scene in the grove were lost). This is the only work by Purcell without conversational dialogues. For the first time the opera was performed on the theatrical stage of the Women's Boarding School in London. This gave music researchers the right to believe that Purcell deliberately simplified his baroque score, adapting it for performance by schoolgirls. The most popular excerpts from the opera are the aria "Ah, Belinda" and the sailor's song. But the most valuable, included in the treasury of world music, was "Weeping Dido." With the sailing of the beloved, the Carthaginian queen asks the cupids to spread on her grave rose petals, as gentle as her love. Lament of Dido - the aria "When I'm put on the ground" - is annually performed on the day of the end of the First World War, at a ceremony that takes place in Whitehall.

Yan and Yin in the reinterpretation of Joseph Brodsky

In 1969, for the Soviet justice parasite, and for the rest of the world - the great poet wrote the poem "Dido and Aeneas". Brodsky in it only indirectly concerns the plot of the already known myth. His main emphasis is on thinking about the dialectical confrontation between the male - active and active - the beginning, Jan, and the emotional, feminine Yin. "The great man" Aeneas in his quest to make a fortune leaves Dido. And for her the whole world, the whole universe is just her lover. She wants to follow him, but she can not. This turns into torment and death for her.