Didone abbandonata (Albinoni) 1726 setting of the libretto. (The papal ban on female performers in Rome's theatres prevented Bulgarelli from singing the role of Dido herself). Dido (Didone), Queen of Carthage, is promised in marriage to King Iarbas (Iarba), but has fallen in love with the Trojan warrior Aeneas (Enea), who had been shipwrecked on the shores of her city. Iarbas appears disguised as "Arbace" to warn Dido that Aeneas cannot become King of Carthage. Nevertheless, Dido refuses to marry Iarbas. Although Aeneas is now in love with Dido, he asks her sister Selene to tell her of his plans to leave Carthage
Creusa of Troy their child and vanishes. Aeneas tries three times to hold her, each time failing to grasp her shade. Pausanias relates that Rhea and Aphrodite rescued Creusa from being enslaved by the Greeks on account of her being the wife of Aeneas (who was a son of Aphrodite). Creusa of Troy In Greek mythology, Creusa (; Ancient Greek: Κρέουσα "Kreousa" "princess") was the daughter of Priam and Hecuba. She was the first wife of Aeneas and mother to Ascanius (also known as Iulus). Creusa's death at the will of the gods is dealt with briefly by Virgil in his "Aeneid". As