Mythological encyclopedia: Heroes of myths and legends: Dido. "Dido and Aeneas" - tragic opera in three acts

Juno, seeing from the heights of Olympus that the Trojan fleet sailing from Sicily to Italy was close to its goal, was inflamed with anger and hurried to Aeolia to the king of the winds. She asked him to release the winds and sink the Trojan fleet. Aeolus obeyed and opened the cave where the winds were locked.

The god of the sea, Neptune, noticing this, commanded the winds to leave his domain and pacified the angry waves. Triton and the Nereid Kimatoya, on the orders of Neptune, removed the ships from the underwater reefs, and he himself moved those that ran aground with his trident.

Aeneas with difficulty gathered only seven ships from the entire fleet and landed with them on the near shore. It was Libya. The bay they entered was calm and safe, surrounded by rocks and forest. In its depths one could see a spacious grotto - the home of the nymphs - with a clear stream and stone benches. Here the Trojans landed on shore to take a break from adversity. Achates, Aeneas' constant friend, struck a fire and built a fire; others carried soaked wheat from the ships so that, after drying it by the fire, they could grind it and prepare food for themselves. Aeneas, meanwhile, accompanied by Achates, climbed onto a nearby rock to look out from there for some remnants of his fleet, but did not see a single ship, but noticed a herd of slender deer grazing in the valley below. They immediately went down and killed seven of the largest animals from the herd with bows. Then Aeneas divided the spoils so that each ship had a deer. The travelers brought wine and, lying down on the grass, enjoyed delicious drink and food until nightfall. But the feast was sad, for everyone was saddened by the thought of their missing friends.

The next morning, Aeneas and Akhat went to explore the surroundings. Entering the thicket of the forest, they met the goddess Venus, the mother of Aeneas, in the form of a young maiden in a hunting robe. “Have you met any of my friends?” - the goddess asked them. “No,” answered Aeneas, “we haven’t met one, oh maiden, I don’t know what to call you, but in your appearance, in your voice, you are not a mortal... you are a goddess!.. Perhaps the sister of Apollo or a nymph? But whoever you are, be merciful to us and help us in our trouble; tell me what country we are in. A storm has driven our ships to this land, and we do not know where we are.”

“You are near the city of Carthage,” said Venus. - This land is called Libya and is inhabited by warlike Libyans. Queen Dido rules in Carthage; She, persecuted by her brother, fled with her friends, taking her wealth, from Tire, from the Phoenician country, and built a city here on land she bought from the Libyan leaders. But tell me: who are you, where are you from and where is your path?”

Aeneas told her everything. Then the goddess revealed to them that they would be received friendly in Carthage, and gave hope that they would see their missing comrades there - as the birds foretold, for at that time twelve swans, pursued by an eagle, rustling with their wings, sank to the ground. Having said this, the goddess left, taking on her appearance again, and the air was filled with the fragrance of ambrosia.

Aeneas went with Achates to the walls of Carthage.

Having ascended the hill, from where both the city and the palace were visible, Aeneas was incredibly surprised by the huge buildings, gates, and streets lined with stone. It was boiling everywhere flurry of activity- walls were erected, loopholes were erected; some carried heavy stones, others hewed columns to decorate the theater, in one place they began building a new house, in another they dug a harbor. "ABOUT happy people, you are already building the walls of your city!” - Aeneas exclaimed, looking at the battlements, and walked with quick steps through the crowd, unnoticed by anyone. In the middle of the city, in a small grove, a magnificent temple goddess Juno. Approaching him, Aeneas was surprised to see a whole series paintings depicting both heroic battles and the suffering of the Trojans. He was pleased that the Carthaginians sympathized with his people.

While he was admiring the paintings, Queen Dido appeared, accompanied by armed young men, resembling Venus in beauty and figure. Entering the vestibule of the temple, the queen sat on the throne and began to judge the people and distribute the work. At this time, Aeneas and Akhat, with surprise and joy, saw their missing friends in the crowd surrounding the queen.

They approached Dido, told her that they sailed with Aeneas, but their ships were separated by a storm, and asked her for protection and permission to repair the ships in order to sail to Italy, if King Aeneas united with them again, or, if he died, in Sicily to King Acestes.

The queen graciously listened to their request and promised protection and help. “Who does not know,” she said, “the great Aeneas, the beautiful Troy and its sad fate? We do not live so far from the rest of the world that we have not heard of your glory, and our hearts are not so cruel as not to sympathize with your sad fate. If you want to go to Hesperia or Sicily, then I will send you there, providing you with supplies; if you want to stay with us, then look at my city as if it were your own. Why isn't Aeneas here with you? I will now send reliable people all over the seashore to find your king.” But then Aeneas himself appeared.

Dido was captivated by the beauty and masculinity of Aeneas. She greeted him in a friendly manner and invited him and his companions to her palace, where she ordered a rich feast to be held in honor of their arrival. She ordered the people of Aeneas who remained on the ships to carry various supplies. Aeneas hastily sent his friend, Achates, for Ascanius and for the rich gifts that he saved from the devastated Troy.

Venus and Cupid. Lucas Cranach the Elder

Venus, fearing for the safety of Aeneas in Libya, asked her son, Cupid, to take the form of young Ascanius and strike the heart of Dido with his well-aimed spear, and she would fall in love with Aeneas. The God of Love readily agreed and, taking the form of Ascanius, whom Venus had meanwhile transported sleepily to the fragrant groves of Italy, went with Achat to Carthage. Arriving at the palace, they found the Trojans and the noblest Tyrians already at the table. The queen, enchanted by the young man, did not let him go from her throughout the feast and fell under the power of the god of love. When the cups began to be passed around, and Aeneas began to talk, at Dido’s request, about the fate of Troy and his own, a fiery love for the hero arose in the queen’s heart, and the more the queen looked at him, the more her passion flared up. When the feast ended late at night and everyone went to rest, the queen’s only thought was about Aeneas.

Juno, ready to do anything to prevent Aeneas from reaching Italy, invited the goddess Aphrodite to arrange the marriage of Aeneas with Dido. The goddess Aphrodite agreed, because in this way the unhappy wanderings of her son would cease, and he would acquire a rich state.

Aeneas was lured into the net by the goddesses; seduced by the queen’s virtues, he forgot about the great promises given to the family and decided to share power over Carthage with Dido. But Jupiter, holding in his hand the fate of the world, did not want the plans destined for the Aeneas family to lay the foundation of a new state in Italy to remain unfulfilled, and sent with Mercury an order to Aeneas to hastily leave Carthage and sail to Italy.

Aeneas with a heavy heart obeyed Jupiter, ordered the secret production of a fleet and, deaf to the pleas and reproaches of Dido, set off. Then the abandoned queen decided to die. By her order, a high fire was built in the courtyard of the palace; Dido mounted him and, when the fire burned, she pierced her tormented heart with a sword. And the last, dying glance of the dying woman was turned to the direction where, in the distance, barely turning white, the sails of a ship could be seen, quickly moving away from the Libyan shores.

Here there's a story going on about the life and misadventures of the hero of the Trojan War - Aeneas. After the fall of Troy, a man arrives in Carthage and immediately becomes the object of the sighs of the local queen, Dido. Aeneas reciprocates her feelings. He arrives at the court along with his subordinates, who are happy about this coincidence of circumstances. However, in one of the caves by the sea, a small gathering of witches does not want such an alliance. The evil spirits plan to separate the lovers and create a huge storm at sea. At this Sabbath, the participants in the conspiracy plan how to make Aeneas leave the queen, and the witches have no doubt about this outcome of their dark deeds. And at the same time they want to deal with the whole of Carthage. They plan to burn it.

Dido organizes a festive hunt in honor of her dear guest. During the storm, a storm begins, and the queen hurries to take refuge in the palace. Aeneas, meanwhile, having successfully hunted, meets a mysterious spirit, supposedly from the god Jupiter. The spirit tells Aeneas that the hero is needed to found the great city of Rome. And therefore Aeneas must immediately leave Carthage. The hero consults with Dido, and she lets him go because she puts the will of the gods above her love. The queen soon dies from melancholy. The witches rejoice that their plot was a success.

The plot reveals such a necessary topic at all times as duty and love. Is it always important to act as the mind demands, or can you rely on your own heart? After all the right decision It could be any of the selected ones. The point is that there is no “right” one. There is something by which a person lives, and what is more important to him is what will be the right decision. This is the answer to whose love the opera tells.

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Dido and Aeneas. Picture for the story

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With a libretto (in English) by Neaham Tate, based on the fourth book of Virgil's Aeneid.

CHARACTERS:

DIDO, Queen of Carthage (contralto)
AENEAS, leader of the Trojans (baritone)
BELINDA, Dido's confidante (soprano)
SECOND LADY, another confidante (mezzo-soprano)
SPIRIT, in the guise of Mercury (soprano)
WITCH (contralto)

Time period: after the fall of Troy.
Location: Carthage.
First performance: Chelsea (London), 1689.

"Dido and Aeneas" is the first truly great opera composed by an Englishman; but there is evil tongues, who claim that she is also the last. It was composed (in 1689) by the young Henry Purcell, who personified the glory of English music, and was intended - first of all - for a boarding school where only girls studied. This school was led by one Josiah Priest, who apparently had influential friends. Not only did a leading English composer write the music for the school play, but also the then-recognized English poet- Neum Tate - was the author of the libretto. He may not have been a great poet, but he wrote a really good and acceptable libretto for the myth of passionate love and death. Acceptable - if you keep in mind that the opera was intended to be staged by girls. The source for the libretto was the fourth book of Virgil's Aeneid. Perhaps girls studied this poem in school at that time.

ACT I

Scene 1. After a classic tragic overture, Belinda calms Dido, her mistress and queen of Carthage. But the queen is overcome with excitement because of her love for Aeneas. Aeneas is, of course, the Trojan hero who landed on the shores of Carthage after the fall of Troy. He shows up with his entourage, and by the end of the scene it is quite obvious that they are madly in love with each other. The madrigal choir (which is always present in the most intimate domestic conversations in classical operas) glorifies the union of lovers (“To the hills and the vales” - “Bright choir of clouds”). General delight is expressed in dancing.

Scene 2. In the second scene we meet the villains. Among them are a witch, two main witches, and a whole choir of witches accompanying them. They all look more like the witches from Shakespeare's Macbeth than what Virgil imagined. In their cave, they make plans to cause a storm at sea in order to separate Dido and Aeneas and force the hero to leave the queen. The picture alternates recitative and chorus: the choral stanza intruding into the development (in the rhythm of a gigue) imitates devilish laughter, giving the music a demonic hue. The duet of witches sounds triumphant and menacing, anticipating victory over love. The scene ends with a chorus of dramatic echoes indicating a “deep vaulted cavern.”

ACT II

The very short second act is a hunt that Queen Dido organized for the pleasure of her famous guest. A sorceress and two witches plot to break up the union of Dido and Aeneas and destroy Carthage in a fire. The Chorus, Belinda, and then the second lady describe the grove and Aeneas's boasts about the boar he killed. As Dido and her companions flee a storm, Aeneas is prevented from following them by a mysterious spirit. This character in the guise of Mercury was sent by a sorceress with an order supposedly from Jupiter. He tells Aeneas that he must leave Dido that very night, since his calling is to found the great city of Rome. Aeneas laments the need to leave his beloved queen, but understands that he must obey this order of the gods. The action ends with the witches expressing their joy that their plan was a success.

ACT III

The last act begins with a chorus of Trojan sailors happily preparing to sail from the shores of hospitable Carthage (“Come away, fellow sailors” - “Hey, sailor! Let’s raise the anchors”). Then the sorceress appears with her choir of witches, who rejoice at this departure more than ever. My favorite verse in this hilarious episode:

Our plot has taken,
The Queen's forsook.

(Our plan was a success,
The queen is left behind.)

This is, of course, 17th century English syntax.

Then the tragic Dido enters with her retinue. She is completely resigned to her fate, and even when Aeneas offers to disobey Jupiter's orders and stay with her, she adamantly insists that her lover go on his way. The music becomes unusually tragic when she sings her big aria, “When I am laid in earth.” In the entire operatic repertoire, I am sure there are not many pages equal to these. The opera ends with a short chorus, filled with a feeling of light sadness (“With drooping wings ye cupids come” - “Sorrow, two wings drooped”).

Henry W. Simon (translated by A. Maikapara)

The opera was staged only once during the author's lifetime, on the occasion of the graduation of female boarding school students. In the 17th century it was used as a “mask” in the appendix to Shakespeare’s comedy “Measure for Measure.” Published by William G. Cummings between 1887 and 1889, it became familiar to our era; it was then published by the Purcell Society Press (1961). Despite the fame of the opera and the interest in it as the largest example musical drama(the first in England), some believe that Purcell showed his abilities better in music for the theater, written for other occasions, for “half-operas” or masks, in which the composer could include more extensive, richly imaginative episodes, including of a figurative nature. This was the case with Diocletian (1690) and King Arthur (1691), The Faerie Queene (1692) and Oedipus (1692), The Tempest (1695) and Bonduca (1695). However, despite the small size, laconicism and concentration of the narrative, the dramatic unity achieved in “Dido and Aeneas”, especially in the finale, is striking, being, in particular, the result of the use English language, although stage constructions are still closely related to the shape of the mask.

It is truly wonderful that in such a small, truly chamber piece the young composer managed to show such skill in depicting feelings, to paint a picture in which the fatal magical threads of fate and the almost deliberate general indifference of those who do not take part in the fate of the main characters are perfectly conveyed. The emotional vocal formulas of the Italian Baroque school, especially Cavalli and Carissimi, the skillful and daring harmonies of which Purcell was the founder, the French influence (Lully) and the melodic-rhythmic elements drawn from typical choral and polyphonic music fit into the same frame. English tradition(not to mention "Venus and Adonis", the John Blow mask).

The persistent change (in the opinion of some, truly painful) of recitatives and various ariatic forms, as it were, speeds up the action, well outlining the characters and the position of the characters. In particular, the dialogues between the queen and Aeneas ruthlessly rule the inexorable course of events: on the one hand, her tears and protests, on the other, the dry responses of the hero, who knows his destiny and is drawn by his own egoism. In the sad finale - a powerful and gloomy death scene - the queen proclaims her voluntary death and wants to leave a good memory of herself, although she is seized by a gust of painful self-condemnation. Tense sound basso ostinato and the sequences on the words “Remember my” became legendary. This scene, after an extended touching lamento, ends with the chorus’s epitaph: the cupids dance around Dido’s deathbed, brightening the atmosphere. This is an image sent into the future, an amazing anticipation of the future and appears before the viewer as a cinematic influx.

G. Marchesi (translated by E. Greceanii)

Purcell's opera reflects ancient myth about the life of Aeneas, which formed the basis of Virgil’s poem “Aeneid”. The poem was popular among composers. But not many works have remained relevant to this day, including Purcell’s opera. Restrained sorrow and depth distinguish the melody of this composition, rich in chromaticisms. For two centuries the opera was not performed on stage; only after the London premiere in 1895 did it find its “second life”. Dido’s aria “When I am laid in earth” (3 days) is one of the world masterpieces. Let us note the 1951 production in London by Britten, the performance at the Glyndebourne Festival (1966, the role of Dido was performed by Baker).

Discography: CD - EMI. Dir. Jones, Dido (Flagstad), Aeneas (Hamsley), Belinda (Schwarzkopf), Sorceress (Mandikian) - EMI. Dir. Barbirolli, Dido (Los Angeles), Aeneas (Glossop), Belinda (Harper), The Witch (Johnson).

Aeneas went with Achates to the walls of Carthage.

Having ascended the hill, from where both the city and the palace were visible, Aeneas was incredibly surprised by the huge buildings, gates, and streets lined with stone. Everywhere there was a flurry of activity - walls were being erected, loopholes were erected; some carried heavy stones, others hewed columns to decorate the theater, in one place they began building a new house, in another they dug a harbor. “O happy people, you are already building the walls of your city!” - Aeneas exclaimed, looking at the battlements, and walked with quick steps through the crowd, unnoticed by anyone. In the middle of the city, in a small grove, a magnificent temple to the goddess Juno was erected. Approaching him, Aeneas was surprised to see a whole series of paintings depicting both heroic battles and the suffering of the Trojans. He was pleased that the Carthaginians sympathized with his people.

Venus and Cupid. Lucas Cranach the Elder

Dido (Dido), Elissa, in Roman mythology the queen, founder of Carthage, daughter of the king of Tire, widow of the priest of Hercules Akerbas or Sychaeus, who was killed by Dido's brother Pygmalion in order to seize his wealth. Having fled to Africa after the death of her husband with many companions and treasures, Dido bought land from the Berber king Yarba. According to the condition, she could take as much land as an ox's hide would cover; Having cut the skin into thin belts, Dido surrounded a large area with them and founded the citadel of Carthage Birsu (Greek “skin”) on this land. At its foundation, the heads of a bull and a horse were found, which foreshadowed Carthage's wealth and military power, which, however, was inferior to that of Rome (at the foundation of the temple on the Capitol in Rome, a human head- a sign of Rome's dominance over the world). According to Justin's version (XVIII 4-7), dating back to earlier Greek or Phoenician sources, Dido, pursued by Yarb's matchmaking, ascended the fire, remaining faithful to the memory of her husband. Roman tradition associated Dido with Aeneas. Perhaps this connection was first reflected in the poem of Naevius (3-2 centuries BC) about Punic War. Virgil processed it in the fourth book of the Aeneid: when Aeneas’s ships arrived in Carthage on the way from Troy, she, by the will of Venus, became Aeneas’ mistress. However, Jupiter sent Mercury to Aeneas with the order to sail to Italy, where he was destined to become the ancestor of the founders of Rome. Unable to bear the separation from Aeneas, Dido committed suicide by ascending to the fire and predicting the enmity of Carthage with Rome. The image of Dido may be derived from a Phoenician deity; the Carthaginians revered her as a goddess.
In the beginning In the 16th century, almost simultaneously with the first translations of Virgil’s Aeneid, tragedies were created: “Dido” by G. Giraldi Cintio; “Dido” by L. Dolce; “Dido sacrificing herself” by E. Jodelle and others; among poetic works: “The History of Queen Dido” by G. Sachs and others. Among dramatic works 17-18 centuries: “D. sacrificing herself” by A. Ardi; “Dido” by J. de Scudéry; “The Abandoned Dido” by P. Metastasio; "D." I. E. Schlegel; “Dido” by Ya. B. Knyazhnin and “Dido” by M. N. Muravyov.
The myth of Dido has enjoyed particular popularity in European musical and dramatic art since the middle. 17th century (among the first operas: “Dido” by F. Cavalli; “Mad Dido” by C. Pallavicino; “Dido and Aeneas” by G. Purcell; “Mad Dido” by A. Scarlatti, etc.). Composers A. Scarlatti (the second opera based on this plot), N. Porpora, G. F. Handel, N. Jommelli, T. Traetta, L. Cherubini, G. Paisiello, V. Fioravanti turned to P. Metastasio’s libretto.

Few works have reached us ancient art associated with myth (a fresco in Pompeii, a mosaic from Halicarnassus, a number of figurines of Dido committing suicide, etc.). European art turns to myth first in illustrations to Virgil’s poem, and starting from the 15th century - in painting. The most common plot was “the suicide of Dido” (paintings by A. Mantegna, Annibale Carracci, Guercino, G. B. Tiepolo, P. P. Rubens, S. Bourdon, C. Le Brun, A. Coipelle, J. Reynolds, etc.) , scenes of the feast of Aeneas and Dido and their hunt were also embodied (frescoes by J. Amigoni and G. B. Tiepolo, paintings by G. Reni, I. G. Tischbein, etc.), the plot “Dido founds Carthage” (G. B. Pittoni etc.)