The powerful Carmina Burana comes to the Teatro Leal in La Laguna on Thursday 10 September, with the performance beginning at 20:30.
Originally drawn from a medieval collection of poems and songs, Carmina Burana explores subjects that are surprisingly familiar more than 700 years later: love, pleasure, fortune, wealth, drinking and the unpredictable nature of life.
From a medieval manuscript to the stage
The original Carmina Burana manuscript dates from the 12th and 13th centuries and was discovered at the Benediktbeuern Abbey in southern Germany.
It contains 318 texts, most written in Latin, although there are also sections in Middle High German and French.
The poems cover a remarkably broad range of subjects. Some are moral and satirical, taking aim at different levels of medieval society, particularly the nobility and clergy.
Others deal with love, earthly pleasures and nature, while the final collection includes poems celebrating drinking, games and general mischief.
So perhaps people haven’t changed quite as much as we’d like to think.
The Wheel of Fortune
One of the best-known elements of Carmina Burana is the Wheel of Fortune, which features in the manuscript alongside the famous poem later set to music by Carl Orff.
Fortuna, the Roman goddess associated with luck and fertility, sits at the centre of the wheel, while four figures surround her, representing the constantly changing fortunes of human life.
The accompanying poem describes how Fortuna can turn the wheel whenever she pleases, bringing wealth and happiness one moment and taking them away the next.
It’s a theme that feels remarkably relevant today.
Money, health, love and luck can all change rather quickly. The medieval poets had already worked that one out.
Carmina Burana at Teatro Leal
Date: Thursday 10 September 2026
Time: 20:30
Venue: Teatro Leal, C. Obispo Rey Redondo 50, La Laguna
Seating: Numbered
Tickets: Available through the event organiser
For PMR accessible seating, tickets must be purchased either by telephone on 922 265 433 or directly from the Teatro Leal box office.
Box office opening hours are Monday to Saturday from 11:00 to 13:00 and 18:00 to 20:00. On Sundays, the box office opens two hours before the performance.
Carmina Burana is one of those works that has managed to travel through the centuries without losing its ability to say something about the way we live.
Not bad for a collection of medieval poems.