Quo Vadis

The Latin phrase Quo Vadis? has been the title of a famous novel and number of dramatized versions of the tale.

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]

Quo Vadis, a stage play by by Stanislaus Stange ()[]

Produced in 1900

Quo Vadis, an opera by Jean Nouguès ()[] and Henri Caïn ()[]

Jean Nouguès composed an opera based on the novel to a libretto by Henri Caïn; it was premiered in 1909.[16] Feliks Nowowiejski composed an oratorio based on the novel, performed for the first time in 1907, and then his most popular work.

The case of The Sign of the Cross, a stage play by Wilson Barrett ()[]

Written and produced by Wilson Barrett, and English play called The Sign of the Cross appeared in the same year that the novel Quo vadis began appearing in the joirnals, being first performed on 28 March 1895.

According to Wikipedia[3], 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.

Performance history in South Africa

1866: Performed as Lucretia Borgia by the Le Roy-Duret Company in the Harrington Street Theatre, Cape Town, on

Sources

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quo_Vadis_(novel)

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

Go to ESAT Bibliography

Return to

Return to PLAYS I: Original SA plays

Return to PLAYS II: Foreign plays

Return to PLAYS III: Collections

Return to PLAYS IV: Pageants and public performances

Return to South African Festivals and Competitions

Return to The ESAT Entries

Return to Main Page