Transcribe
Translate
University of Iowa speech and dramatic art programs, 1967-1969
1968-11-08 "Venus and Adonis" Page 4
More information
digital collection
archival collection guide
transcription tips
VENUS AND ADONIS Venus, and Adonis, "a masque for the entertainment of the king," was written and performed for the pleasure of King Charles II of England about 1682. The role of Venus was taken by one of the King's mistresses, Mrs. Mary Davies; their daughter, Lady Mary Tudor, played the part of Cupid. It was probably performed at court, with the children of various courtiers taking the parts of the younger cupids. Lady Mary must have been about 10 yeas old at the time. The story of Venus and Adonis relates the myth of the love of Venus for Adonis, and her grief at his death when hunting a boar. King Charles' love of hunting was well known. Other elements of the Restoration court life are referred to with sharp irony throughout. There are resemblances to the earlier Stuart masques such as the suite of dances by the Graces in the second act, and the other dances which various characters perform. Venus and Adonis, unlike an ordinary masque, does not end with the traditional dancing by all present including royalty, but with a slow dirge. Although Mrs. Davies was known for her dancing in the theatre of the 1660's, as is mentioned in both Pepys' and Evelyn's diaries, she does not dance here. And unlike most masques, the librettist of Venus and Adonis is unknown. The work was written to be sung throughout. Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas seems patterned after this work of his teacher, John Blow. Both include strong women as central characters and conclude with choral laments. In each work the woman, either Dido or Venus, dominates the action and to some extent initiates her own despair, Dido in urging Aeneas to leave when he hesitates, and Venus in encouraging Adonis to hunt in spite of his strong premonition not to go. Both works include many short dances and both lack spoken dialogue. Blow wrote only this one work for the stage. He considered himself primarily a church composer. As master of the Chapel Royal, he trained a number of England's composers, the most famous of whom was Henry Purcell. His work spanned the Restoration, as he was one of the first boy singers in the Chapel Royal restored in 1660, working there until his death in 1708. It si our loss that he was not encouraged to write further for the stage. —Notes by Daniel Jepson A Note on the Performance by Robert Donington I have followed the best baroque precedents in adapting this small masterpiece to its new performance here in a larger hall and more public circumstances. I have added wind parts for greater sonority, I have prolonged the huntsman's dance, and I have expanded the brief final chorus and one other scene by writing instrumental ritornellos: all common practices in baroque revivals. There are only 16 measures of Blow's final chorus, including its repeats; and that hardly gives time, on a public stage, to take in its extraordinary beauty. By spacing it out instrumentally we give it a pedestal, as it were, which it did not need in its original intimate setting but which fits it better to the stage production conceived by my gifted colleagues.
Saving...
prev
next
VENUS AND ADONIS Venus, and Adonis, "a masque for the entertainment of the king," was written and performed for the pleasure of King Charles II of England about 1682. The role of Venus was taken by one of the King's mistresses, Mrs. Mary Davies; their daughter, Lady Mary Tudor, played the part of Cupid. It was probably performed at court, with the children of various courtiers taking the parts of the younger cupids. Lady Mary must have been about 10 yeas old at the time. The story of Venus and Adonis relates the myth of the love of Venus for Adonis, and her grief at his death when hunting a boar. King Charles' love of hunting was well known. Other elements of the Restoration court life are referred to with sharp irony throughout. There are resemblances to the earlier Stuart masques such as the suite of dances by the Graces in the second act, and the other dances which various characters perform. Venus and Adonis, unlike an ordinary masque, does not end with the traditional dancing by all present including royalty, but with a slow dirge. Although Mrs. Davies was known for her dancing in the theatre of the 1660's, as is mentioned in both Pepys' and Evelyn's diaries, she does not dance here. And unlike most masques, the librettist of Venus and Adonis is unknown. The work was written to be sung throughout. Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas seems patterned after this work of his teacher, John Blow. Both include strong women as central characters and conclude with choral laments. In each work the woman, either Dido or Venus, dominates the action and to some extent initiates her own despair, Dido in urging Aeneas to leave when he hesitates, and Venus in encouraging Adonis to hunt in spite of his strong premonition not to go. Both works include many short dances and both lack spoken dialogue. Blow wrote only this one work for the stage. He considered himself primarily a church composer. As master of the Chapel Royal, he trained a number of England's composers, the most famous of whom was Henry Purcell. His work spanned the Restoration, as he was one of the first boy singers in the Chapel Royal restored in 1660, working there until his death in 1708. It si our loss that he was not encouraged to write further for the stage. —Notes by Daniel Jepson A Note on the Performance by Robert Donington I have followed the best baroque precedents in adapting this small masterpiece to its new performance here in a larger hall and more public circumstances. I have added wind parts for greater sonority, I have prolonged the huntsman's dance, and I have expanded the brief final chorus and one other scene by writing instrumental ritornellos: all common practices in baroque revivals. There are only 16 measures of Blow's final chorus, including its repeats; and that hardly gives time, on a public stage, to take in its extraordinary beauty. By spacing it out instrumentally we give it a pedestal, as it were, which it did not need in its original intimate setting but which fits it better to the stage production conceived by my gifted colleagues.
Campus Culture
sidebar
