Barlaam and Josaphat. Buddha: A Christian Saint?

701 North 40th Street,Omaha NE 68131

17 February, 2023

Description

Could you ever imagine that one of the most popular saints in the Christian calendar of the Middle Ages was... Buddha? After ten years of research in a multitude of libraries worldwide, Katarina Livljanic and the ensemble Dialogos bring to life the incredible story of saints Barlaam and Josaphat, a christianized version of Buddha's life, which crossed over at least four religions and was transmitted through almost all the medieval languages. Powerful songs, incarnated by voice and instruments, sing the legend about the king's son, prince Josaphat, who leaves the noisy world of opulence to search for inner peace - songs which follow the path of his story from one medieval language to another, from Greek, Latin to Old Croatian, Italian, Church Slavonic... This powerful multimedia performance tells the story of Barlaam & Josaphat and leads the listener through one of the most intriguing labyrinths of medieval world. Through a rich audio and iconographic material, it opens the doors into the artistic creative process which transformed a medieval legend into a music performance. The event is organized by Cathedral Arts Project, UNO Medieval/Renaissance Studies and College of St. Mary, with the support of Humanities Nebraska, the Nebraska Arts Council and the Nebraska Cultural Endowment.