English Opera Beginnings
Early Opera in England and Contributions of Purcell and Handel
May 25, 2008
The London theatre remained a popular form of entertainment once the playhouses reopened following the Restoration in the 18th century. Music had become an increasingly common component of theatrical performances. It was from this tradition that the first English opera, Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas, was born, followed by the migration of the German Baroque composer George F. Handel, with his oratorio masterpiece, Messiah.
Henry Purcell
Henry Purcell, born in Westminster in 1659, was a chorister in the Chapel Royal until his voice broke in 1673. After six years, he succeeded his teacher, John Blow, as organist of Westminster Abbey. From this time on, he began writing music for the theatre as well as for royal occasions. According to legend, he died in 1695 after catching a fatal chill when his wife locked him out after returning home late from the theatre.
Purcell can rightfully lay claim to being the father of English opera, although some of his most famous work was not properly staged until long after his death.
Purcell's Contribution
Purcell's greatest talent was for setting the English language to music. For example, he set to music the works of writers Dryden, Congreve and Behn. His opera Dido and Aeneas, produced between 1688 and 1690, is generally regarded as the first English opera. Although there is no spoken dialogue, the action progresses in recitatives. The opera was very popular at private performances but its wider theatrical possibilities were not recognized during Purcell's lifetime. It was only staged two hundred years after his death, in 1895.
The Semi-Operas
Purcell also composed other works described as semi-operas, those that included dialogues, dances, orchestral music and songs. Among his works that can be described in this category are The Fairy Queen, Dioclesian, The Indian Queen and King Arthur, a development of earlier court entertainments known as masques.
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel, famous for 'Messiah' is the most successful opera composer of the 18th century London. Born in Saxony in 1685, he started his career as a church organist. Attracted to the theatre, he moved to Hamburg where the first public opera house outside Italy was opened in 1678. He then moved again to Italy in 1706, and there he became a very popular opera composer with Agrippina, his greatest success. Four years later, he took a position as court musician to the Elector of Hanover. Later the same year, he was granted permission to visit England. He loved the cultural atmosphere in London and decided to settle there.
Handel the Composer and Entrepreneur
With the royalty pension starting from Queen Anne in 1714, then George the Elector of Hanover, plus an additional pension from the Princess of Wales, Handel launched his own company. In the 1720s he went bankrupt, but through his well-placed contacts and reputation, raised an enormous amount to establish a new company. This also folded up in 1737. With the collapse of his opera ventures, Handel concentrated in composing oratorios. In 14 years, he composed more than twenty, including his immortal masterpiece Messiah.
George Frideric Handel's Contribution
Handel produced some 50 operas, many of them recorded and performed onstage. He was responsible for great advances in combining brilliant vocal ornamentation with dramatically effective orchestral accompaniment. Giulio Cesare, said to be his finest opera, belongs to the standard opera repertory.
Trivia
It is interesting to mention the behavior of the audience at both plays and operas in 18th century England. During performances, audiences would chat, eat, and heckle singers or actors they did not like and cheer those they did. It's a long way from the modern conventions today.
Sources:
Opera. András Batta, Editor-in-Chief. Cologne: Könemann, 1999
Griffin, Clive. Opera. London: HarperCollins, 2007
