Difference between revisions of "Quo Vadis"
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==The case of ''[[The Sign of the Cross]]'', a stage play by Wilson Barrett== | ==The case of ''[[The Sign of the Cross]]'', a stage play by Wilson Barrett== | ||
| − | Written and produced by the actor, playwright and producer Wilson Barrett ()[], | + | Written and produced by the actor, playwright and producer Wilson Barrett ()[], an English play called ''[[The Sign of the Cross]]'' with a remarkably similar theme, was first performed in the same year that the novel ''[[Quo vadis]]'' began appearing in serial form (26 March 1895). The play premiered two days later, on 28 March 1895. |
According to ''[[Wikipedia]]''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vadis_(novel)], the two works share a number of elements, for example a Roman soldier named "Marcus" who falls in love with a Christian woman ("Lycia" in the novel, "Mercia" in the play), Nero, Tigellinus and Poppea appearing as key characters in both works. However, the endings of the novel and play are not the same. | According to ''[[Wikipedia]]''[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vadis_(novel)], the two works share a number of elements, for example a Roman soldier named "Marcus" who falls in love with a Christian woman ("Lycia" in the novel, "Mercia" in the play), Nero, Tigellinus and Poppea appearing as key characters in both works. However, the endings of the novel and play are not the same. | ||
Revision as of 06:37, 6 April 2020
The Latin phrase Quo Vadis? has been the title of a famous novel and number of dramatized versions of the tale.
Contents
The phrase "Quo Vadis"
Quo Vadis? is a Latin phrase meaning "Where are you going?" and is part of Christian lore (based on the apocryphal Acts of Peter, in which Peter flees Rome but on his way meets Jesus and asks him why he is going to Rome. Jesus says, "If thou desertest my people, I am going to Rome to be crucified a second time", which shames Peter into going back to Rome to accept martyrdom. ).
The original novel
Though it is commonly known as Quo Vadis, the full title of the original novel is Quo Vadis: A Narrative of the Time of Nero and was written in Polish by Henryk Sienkiewicz (1846-1916)[1]. It tells of a love that develops between a young Christian woman, Lygia (Ligia in Polish) and Marcus Vinicius, a Roman patrician. It takes place in the city of Rome under the rule of emperor Nero, c. AD 64.
First published in installments in three journals (Gazeta Polska - between 26 March 1895 and 29 February 1896 - Czas and Dziennik Poznański), and as a book in 1896, the novel was translated into more than 50 languages over time. Sienkiewicz received the 1905 Nobel Prize for Literature for Quo Vadis and and some of his other novels.
Translations and adaptations
Various stage versions and several films were based on the tale, including two Italian silent films (1913 and 1924), a plush Hollywood production in 1951 (nominated for eight Academy Awards), a 1985 miniseries directed by Franco Rossi, and a 2001 adaptation by Jerzy Kawalerowicz.[2]
Feliks Nowowiejski composed a successful oratorio based on the novel, performed for the first time in 1907.
Quo Vadis, a stage play by Stanislaus Stange (1862-1917)[3]
The play text
The novel was adapted as a play called Quo Vadis by Stanislaus Stange (1862-1917)[4], and produced by him in 1900.
Performance history in South Africa
1901: Performed as Quo Vadis by The Holloway Theatre Company in Cape Town.
Quo Vadis, an opera by Jean Nouguès and Henri Caïn
The novel was adapted as an opera with 5 acts and 6 tableaux by Jean Nouguès (1875-1932)[5] and Henri Caïn (1857-1937)[6]). It premiered in Nice in 1909, going on to play in Paris, London and Milan, and later opened at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York in 1911.
The case of The Sign of the Cross, a stage play by Wilson Barrett
Written and produced by the actor, playwright and producer Wilson Barrett ()[], an English play called The Sign of the Cross with a remarkably similar theme, was first performed in the same year that the novel Quo vadis began appearing in serial form (26 March 1895). The play premiered two days later, on 28 March 1895.
According to Wikipedia[7], the two works share a number of elements, for example a Roman soldier named "Marcus" who falls in love with a Christian woman ("Lycia" in the novel, "Mercia" in the play), Nero, Tigellinus and Poppea appearing as key characters in both works. However, the endings of the novel and play are not the same.
For more on the play and its South African performances, see the entry on The Sign of the Cross
Sources
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vadis_(novel)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henryk_Sienkiewicz
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanislaus_Stange
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jean_Nougu%C3%A8s
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_Ca%C3%AFn
D.C. Boonzaier, 1923. "My playgoing days – 30 years in the history of the Cape Town stage", in SA Review, 9 March and 24 August 1932. (Reprinted in Bosman 1980: pp. 374-439.)
F.C.L. Bosman. 1980. Drama en Toneel in Suid-Afrika, Deel II, 1856-1912. Pretoria: J.L. van Schaik: pp.203-205
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