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
Aeneas is identical to Thor. This tale resemble some episodes of the Aeneid . Continuations of Trojan matter in the Middle Ages had their effects on the character of Aeneas as well. The 12th-century French "Roman d'Enéas" addresses Aeneas's sexuality. Though Virgil appears to deflect all homoeroticism onto Nisus and Euryalus, making his Aeneas a purely heterosexual character, in the Middle Ages there was at least a suspicion of homoeroticism in Aeneas. The "Roman d'Enéas" addresses that charge, when Queen Amata opposes Aeneas's marrying Lavinia, claiming that Aeneas loved boys. Medieval interpretations of Aeneas were greatly influenced by both Virgil and