Was Rome Founded on the Basis of Fake News?

Well, if you believe Henry Purcell's only opera, "Dido and Aeneas," the answer is yes. The foundation of Rome definitely stemmed from a serious incidence of fake news.

Why bring this up now?  Well, fake news is definitely in the news and equally to the point, the Mark Morris Dance Group is currently performing Purcell's  opera at the Brooklyn Academy of Music along with a short opera by Benjamin Britten called "Curlew River."





Aeneas, a Trojan, has fled his homeland after the fall of Troy, heading in the direction of Italy. After about six years of effort, he and his men end up at Carthage, on the shores of North Africa, where he promptly falls for Dido, the queen, who is head-over-heels in love with him, more or less at first sight.  She wants him to marry her and remain in Carthage, to which he at first agrees.

But a wicked sorceress who hates Dido (and all powerful, successful women for that matter) intervenes.  She disguises one of her witches as the messenger god Mercury and conjures up a powerful storm for good measure.  "Mercury," presumably sent by Jupiter, tells Aeneas he must leave for Italy immediately and Aeneas swallows this bit of fake news without question.

Off he goes and Dido promptly commits suicide.  There you have it: not just the malicious nature of the fake news to which we are becoming accustomed, but a major cat fight as well.  Poor Dido.

But .... one can argue that it is Nahum Tate, an Irish protestant poet credited with the libretto, who is the real purveyor of fake news because arguably the more authoritative account of the founding of Rome comes from Virgil. In Virgil's "Aeneid," Aeneas, on his way to Italy as instructed by the gods, does in fact land in Carthage and remains there in the arms of Queen Dido for a year.

He only departs when Jupiter himself (not the sorceress) sends the real Mercury to tell him it's time to go and fulfill his destiny: the founding of Rome. Alas, Dido kills herself in this version too, but not before uttering a curse that means Carthage will forever be the enemy of Rome.  If you want to know how that turns out, fast-forward to the Punic Wars.

But back to Mark Morris and his dancers, men and women dressed and made up to look the same: slit-skirt black dresses that were tied up to look like culottes for a dance by sailors, large silver earrings and lip color. The orchestra, at the BAM's opera house, met expectations; the singers led by Stephanie Blythe (Dido and the Sorceress) were excellent, and Morris' choreography was a delightful and often amusing interpretation.  All in all, a great evening out  -- fake news or not.

But what about Britten's "Curlew River," not so much danced as walked?  It was inspired by the extreme aesthetic notions of the Japanese Noh form of musical drama -- and if you have ever watched a Noh performance, you know it is akin to watching grass grow.  Give me Purcell any day of the week!