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Venus and Adonis (opera)

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Musical Recordings and
compositions

   A painting of Venus and Adonis by Cornelis van Haarlem, 1614
   Enlarge
   A painting of Venus and Adonis by Cornelis van Haarlem, 1614

   Venus and Adonis is an opera in three acts and a prologue by the
   English Baroque composer John Blow, composed c. 1683. It was written
   for the court of King Charles II at either London or Windsor. It is
   considered by some to be either a semi-opera or a masque, but The New
   Grove names it as the earliest surviving English opera. In fact, an
   early manuscript source is subtitled "A masque for the the
   entertainment of the king". The author of the libretto is unknown, but
   is surmised to have been by Aphra Behn due to the feminist nature of
   the text, and that she later worked with Blow on the play The Lucky
   Chance. The story is based on the Classical myth of Venus and Adonis,
   which was also the basis for Shakespeare's poem Venus and Adonis, as
   well as Ovid's poem of the same name in his Metamorphoses.

Cast

     * Cupid- Soprano
     * Venus-Soprano
     * Adonis- Baritone
     * Shepherd- contralto or Countertenor
     * Shepherdess-Soprano
     * Huntsman-contralto or Countertenor
     * Chorus, acting variously as Cupids, shepherds and shepherdesses,
       huntsmen, and courtiers.

Music

   In overall form the opera owes much to French operas of the period,
   especially those of Jean-Baptiste Lully, whom Charles II would have
   encountered while in exile in the court of Louis XIV. The French
   elements in the opera are the French overture, the Prologue which
   refers in scarcely veiled terms to the court for which it was written,
   and also includes many dances popular at the time. The piece is a clear
   model for Henry Purcell's opera Dido and Aeneas, both in structure and
   the use of the chorus. The piece is remarkable for the period because
   of its through-composed nature; there are no clear arias or set-pieces,
   but the music continues throughout the piece, using recitative to
   further the plot.

Libretto

   The same subject by Titian c.1560
   Enlarge
   The same subject by Titian c.1560

   The author of the libretto is not known. The traditional story is as
   follows: Venus is with her son Cupid, and he accidentally pierces her
   with one of his arrows. The next person Venus sees is the handsome
   youth Adonis, with whom she immediately falls in love. He is a hunter,
   and she decides that in order to be with him, she will take on the form
   of the goddess of the hunt, Artemis. Eventually she warns Adonis of the
   danger of hunting the wild boar, but he does not heed the warning, and
   is gored to death by the boar.

   In Blow's version, Venus encourages Adonis to go hunting, despite his
   protestations:

          Adonis: Adonis will not hunt today:
          I have already caught the noblest prey.
          Venus: No, my shepherd haste away:
          Absence kindles new desire,
          I would not have my lover tire.

   This is reminiscent of the scene in Dido and Aeneas when Dido rebuffs
   Aeneas' offer to stay with her. In addition to this major difference in
   Adonis' motivation, Blow's version also includes the addition of a
   number of comic scenes with Cupid, including the spelling lesson he
   gives to the young cupids, and his opinion that almost no one in the
   court is faithful, an especially pungent critique given that it is
   believed that Cupid was played by Lady Mary Tudor, then around 10 yrs.
   old and Charles II's illegitimate daughter, and Venus by Mary (Moll)
   Davies, the king's former mistress.

Recordings

     * "John Blow:Venus and Adonis" (recorded 1987), directed by Charles
       Medlam, on Harmonia Mundi (1901276), with Nancy Argenta (Venus),
       Lynne Dawson (cupid), Stephen Varcoe (Adonis), and London Baroque.
     * "Venus and Adonis" (recorded 1999), directed by René Jacobs, on
       Harmonia Mundi (901684), with Maria Cristina Kiehr (Venus), Robin
       Blaze (Cupid), John Bowen, Jonathan Brown, Gerald Finley,
       Christopher Josey, Rosemary Joshua, and Orchestra of the Age of
       Enlightenment.

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