The Latin Qvarter presents a new adaptation of Virgil’s classic and ever more timely story of a refugee leading his people from the east, performed in Latin and English.
The Song of Arms and a Man presents Aeneas’ struggle to fulfil his destiny as founder of Rome – from his escape from the burning ruins of Troy to his asylum and heart-breaking affair with the Carthaginian queen Dido and his reluctant war with the inhabitants of his fated homeland of Italy.
The performance will feature selections of Virgil’s Aeneid, read in the original Latin epic verse by trained singers, alongside an English narration which tells the whole story of the poem. This innovative and acclaimed presentation of a rarely heard masterpiece echoes the ancient culture of public performance of poetry.
George Sharpley’s adaptation of this extraordinarily musical poem is read by Emma Kirkby, Matthew Hargreaves, Elizabeth Donnelly and Llewelyn Morgan.
The performance aims to introduce Virgil’s Aeneid to those new to Latin, and recapture the magic for those familiar with the poem.