Albion and Albanius
Encyclopedia
Albion and Albanius is an opera
, closely resembling a French
tragédie en musique, by Louis Grabu
with an English
text by John Dryden
.
The words were written by Dryden in 1680. It was initially intended as a prologue to a play "of the nature of 'The Tempest'", which was apparently Shakespeare's masque
-like play, in the drastically cut and "corrected" form in which it was presented to Restoration audiences: for Dryden's strictures on Shakespeare's play, see The Tempest. "But some intervening accidents having hitherto deferred the performance of the main design, I proposed to the actors to turn the intended prologue into an entertainment by itself, as you now see it, by adding two acts more to what I had already written." (Dryden's Preface).
, London
. This was "a very unlucky day", observes Downes
in Roscius Anglicanus, "being the day the Duke of Monmouth
landed in the west: the nation being in a great consternation, it was performed but six times, which not answering half the charge they were at, involved the company very much in debt." This fiasco helps explain the rarity of operas in the 1680s, until Londoners had settled down after the Glorious Revolution
of 1689. In addition, events of the five years of James's reign quickly rendered the adulatory allegory of Dryden's machinery no longer current.
Albion and Albanius is the first full-length English opera that still survives.
, and after his death was intended to apply to his successor James II
.
Based in style on a pre-civil war
court masque
, "the allegory itself so very obvious that it will no sooner be read than understood", the hero
and his supporters in the plot are myth
ological and Arthurian; they are, however, quite clearly based on the Stuart dynasty
, in a thinly veiled allegory. In terms of production the opera was a restoration spectacular
, visuals included much mere mythological display to take advantage of the "machines" at the Dorset Garden Theatre
, such as "The clouds divide, and Juno appears in a machine drawn by peacocks: while a symphony is playing, it moves gently forward, and as it descends, it opens and discovers the tail of the peacock, which is so large that it almost fills the opening of the stage between scene and scene" (Act I). More pointedly political allegorizing of the Tory
message includes a figure representing Shaftesbury "with Fiend's Wings, and snakes twisted round his body; he is encompassed by several fanatical rebellious heads, who suck poison from him, which runs out of a tap in his side."
: "The subject, therefore, being extended beyond the limits of human nature, admits of that sort of marvelous and surprising conduct, which is rejected in other plays... it would follow of necessity, that the expressions should be lofty, figurative, and majestical." In this way, at the very birth of opera in London, Dryden gives the character that opera seria
retained for a century, as long as the librettos of Metastasio
were being set, into the age of Mozart.
In the 17th-century Italian operas that Dryden admitted were his general models— and the French ones that he did not mention— the recitative
drove the action, and the arias— "which for want of a proper English word, I must call the songish part"— were meant to please the ear rather than gratify the understanding.
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
, closely resembling a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
tragédie en musique, by Louis Grabu
Louis Grabu
Louis Grabu, Grabut, Grabue, or Grebus was a Catalan-born, French-trained composer and violinist who was mainly active in England....
with an English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
text by John Dryden
John Dryden
John Dryden was an influential English poet, literary critic, translator, and playwright who dominated the literary life of Restoration England to such a point that the period came to be known in literary circles as the Age of Dryden.Walter Scott called him "Glorious John." He was made Poet...
.
The words were written by Dryden in 1680. It was initially intended as a prologue to a play "of the nature of 'The Tempest'", which was apparently Shakespeare's masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
-like play, in the drastically cut and "corrected" form in which it was presented to Restoration audiences: for Dryden's strictures on Shakespeare's play, see The Tempest. "But some intervening accidents having hitherto deferred the performance of the main design, I proposed to the actors to turn the intended prologue into an entertainment by itself, as you now see it, by adding two acts more to what I had already written." (Dryden's Preface).
Performance history
The music was written in 1685. After the period of court mourning for the late King and many other delays, the sumptuous production (costing the company over £4000 to mount) had its premiere on Sunday, 3 June that same year at Dorset Garden TheatreDorset Garden Theatre
The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Duke became King, the theatre became the Queen's Theatre in...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. This was "a very unlucky day", observes Downes
John Downes (17th-century prompter)
John Downes worked as a prompter at the Duke's Company, and later the United Company, for most of the Restoration period 1660—1700...
in Roscius Anglicanus, "being the day the Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth
James Scott, 1st Duke of Monmouth, 1st Duke of Buccleuch, KG, PC , was an English nobleman. Originally called James Crofts or James Fitzroy, he was born in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, the eldest illegitimate son of Charles II and his mistress, Lucy Walter...
landed in the west: the nation being in a great consternation, it was performed but six times, which not answering half the charge they were at, involved the company very much in debt." This fiasco helps explain the rarity of operas in the 1680s, until Londoners had settled down after the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1689. In addition, events of the five years of James's reign quickly rendered the adulatory allegory of Dryden's machinery no longer current.
Albion and Albanius is the first full-length English opera that still survives.
The allegory
It was written as a tribute to King Charles IICharles II of England
Charles II was monarch of the three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Charles II's father, King Charles I, was executed at Whitehall on 30 January 1649, at the climax of the English Civil War...
, and after his death was intended to apply to his successor James II
James II of England
James II & VII was King of England and King of Ireland as James II and King of Scotland as James VII, from 6 February 1685. He was the last Catholic monarch to reign over the Kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland...
.
Based in style on a pre-civil war
English Civil War
The English Civil War was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between Parliamentarians and Royalists...
court masque
Masque
The masque was a form of festive courtly entertainment which flourished in 16th and early 17th century Europe, though it was developed earlier in Italy, in forms including the intermedio...
, "the allegory itself so very obvious that it will no sooner be read than understood", the hero
Hero
A hero , in Greek mythology and folklore, was originally a demigod, their cult being one of the most distinctive features of ancient Greek religion...
and his supporters in the plot are myth
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
ological and Arthurian; they are, however, quite clearly based on the Stuart dynasty
House of Stuart
The House of Stuart is a European royal house. Founded by Robert II of Scotland, the Stewarts first became monarchs of the Kingdom of Scotland during the late 14th century, and subsequently held the position of the Kings of Great Britain and Ireland...
, in a thinly veiled allegory. In terms of production the opera was a restoration spectacular
Restoration spectacular
The Restoration spectacular, or elaborately staged "machine play", hit the London public stage in the late 17th-century Restoration period, enthralling audiences with action, music, dance, moveable scenery, baroque illusionistic painting, gorgeous costumes, and special effects such as trapdoor...
, visuals included much mere mythological display to take advantage of the "machines" at the Dorset Garden Theatre
Dorset Garden Theatre
The Dorset Garden Theatre in London, built in 1671, was in its early years also known as the Duke of York's Theatre, or the Duke's Theatre. In 1685, King Charles II died and his brother, the Duke of York, was crowned as James II. When the Duke became King, the theatre became the Queen's Theatre in...
, such as "The clouds divide, and Juno appears in a machine drawn by peacocks: while a symphony is playing, it moves gently forward, and as it descends, it opens and discovers the tail of the peacock, which is so large that it almost fills the opening of the stage between scene and scene" (Act I). More pointedly political allegorizing of the Tory
Tory
Toryism is a traditionalist and conservative political philosophy which grew out of the Cavalier faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. It is a prominent ideology in the politics of the United Kingdom, but also features in parts of The Commonwealth, particularly in Canada...
message includes a figure representing Shaftesbury "with Fiend's Wings, and snakes twisted round his body; he is encompassed by several fanatical rebellious heads, who suck poison from him, which runs out of a tap in his side."
Dryden on opera
When Albion and Albanius came to be printed, Dryden's Preface was the first explication of opera in the English language. "An opera is a poetical tale, or fiction, represented by vocal and instrumental music, adorned with scenes, machines and dancing," Dryden informed his readers. The "machines" were required to effect the dramatic changes of scenery the action required. Pointing out that the persons were supernatural or heroic, Dryden linked his work with the genre we would call RomanceRomance (genre)
As a literary genre of high culture, romance or chivalric romance is a style of heroic prose and verse narrative that was popular in the aristocratic circles of High Medieval and Early Modern Europe. They were fantastic stories about marvel-filled adventures, often of a knight errant portrayed as...
: "The subject, therefore, being extended beyond the limits of human nature, admits of that sort of marvelous and surprising conduct, which is rejected in other plays... it would follow of necessity, that the expressions should be lofty, figurative, and majestical." In this way, at the very birth of opera in London, Dryden gives the character that opera seria
Opera seria
Opera seria is an Italian musical term which refers to the noble and "serious" style of Italian opera that predominated in Europe from the 1710s to c. 1770...
retained for a century, as long as the librettos of Metastasio
Metastasio
Pietro Antonio Domenico Trapassi, better known by his pseudonym of Metastasio, was an Italian poet and librettist, considered the most important writer of opera seria libretti.-Early life:...
were being set, into the age of Mozart.
In the 17th-century Italian operas that Dryden admitted were his general models— and the French ones that he did not mention— the recitative
Recitative
Recitative , also known by its Italian name "recitativo" , is a style of delivery in which a singer is allowed to adopt the rhythms of ordinary speech...
drove the action, and the arias— "which for want of a proper English word, I must call the songish part"— were meant to please the ear rather than gratify the understanding.